Next month Pope Francis will make his first-ever visit to the United States. He is scheduled to arrive in Washington D.C. from Cuba at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22. After a full schedule of events in the days that follow, which includes a meeting with President Barack Obama, the canonization of Junipero Serra and a multi-religious prayer service at the 9/11 memorial in New York City, Pope Francis will arrive in Philadelphia on Sept. 26. That’s where the pope is expected to focus his thoughts and energy on the family.

Events on Pope Francis’ schedule on Sept. 26 and 27 are the main reason he made the decision to visit the U.S. in the first place. The pope and Catholics around the world have been preparing for the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops scheduled at Vatican City, Oct. 4-25 of this year for the past two years. Catholic clerics and laity have addressed questions centered around the theme of the synod, “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.”

And what is the purpose of all this you might ask? According to a Q and A issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “The XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will continue the work of the III Extraordinary General Assembly by “reflect(ing) further on the points discussed so as to formulate appropriate pastoral guidelines” for the pastoral care of the person and the family (Instrumentum Laboris, III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops).”

A lot has been written, broadcast and mostly speculated about what will or will not happen in the Church as a result of all this. As I write this column, reporters, both religious and secular, in every corner of the world, are poised to pounce on every papal word to see if it confirms or denies whatever slant they decide their readers want to hear. In fact, reports about decisions regarding the divorced and remarried have already circulated with great inaccuracy.

So that, my dear readers, is why I pen this column. I take this opportunity to issue to you a caution and a challenge in the weeks ahead. I issue this partly as a member of the Catholic press, as a media professional, but most importantly as a Catholic with a concern for truth and clarity. When it comes to what the pope says or decides in the weeks and months ahead, watch what you read, how you read it and be attuned to the source of your information. There are many who seek change in the Catholic Church and they have many reasons for whatever change they lobby for or against. And there is a lot at stake when it comes to what we know as family life.

All you have to do is click-up the summer report from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) to see the discouraging trends overtaking marriage, children and family life in today’s society and the bleak outlooks for the same in the future. Does all that mean the church and its teaching should do a complete turnaround? Should we follow the trends and abandon the ideals of sacramental marriage, the openness to life and the teaching of the Gospel on moral behavior outside of marriage? This is the solution that is sure to prevail in lots of media during the papal visit and the synod to come. And there are too many sources online, on TV and radio and in print that would lead us all to believe that the Catholic faith cannot survive in the world.

Ah, but we know the faith can and does survive! All of our concerns and worries are only new to us, not to God! The faith has survived and thrived through every passing trend since Christ first established the Church on earth.

So to help you prepare to accurately keep up with the Holy Father’s visit and the synod, keep praying.

Be a savvy media consumer. Keep reading Bishop Malloy’s reflections on the Gospel as it relates to our lives and God’s charge that we be lights to the world. Continue to live and teach by good example in your work, your play and as you practice your faith. And of course, stay tuned to your Observer.