Yellow journalism is at work here.
Folks, can you believe it? Well, OK, there’s precedent. I remember clearly how after Pope Benedict’s election the BBC journalist practically wished him a short tenure via natural causes, as he continuously spoke about his advanced age and the fact that Benedict’s was a “transitional election”.
With Pope Benedict continuing good health, the BBC’s tune has changed and now they seek to inject the idea of the Pope’s resignation into the conversation. Theirs is yellow journalism at its worst.
This is what I think: this Pope has nothing to be ashamed of in this dealings with the sexual abuse crisis. His handling of the crisis has been as energetic as it has been compassionated. The perception – and it is a perception, not a reality – of what the Pope may have done or failed to do during his tenure in Munich is irrelevant and, as I will argue soon in an upcoming newspaper column, the timing of the latest “revelations” and the people making them reveal a nefarious agenda lurking below. More on that after my Op-Ed is published.
The BBC, the New York Times, and the media types echoing them know full well that the Holy See will be unable to mount an effective defense without opening their confidential personnel files to the public, something that not even Enron was forced to do. The BBC et al are being dishonest and their little smear campaign should undergo a critical scrutiny of its own.
I support Pope Benedict, the yellow journalists attacking the Pope notwithstanding.
P.S.Trying to get back to my Lenten silence but these developments are derailing me; I feel I must comment on them.
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6 comments:
I love your commentary, especially because these issues have been bothering me as well. Just yesterday I discussed with my husband the recent uproar against the Church, and specifically the Pope. It seems to me that many Catholics are so appalled (rightfully, of course) at the pedophilia that they don't even want to defend the Church's (or the Pope's) actions. How can you defend such ignorance, after all? For my own thoughts, I would like to point out that you have to put it in historical context. The abuses that were reported to Ratzinger took place in the late 1970s and extremely early '80s, at which point psychologists still believed that pedophilia was a treatable disorder and that given treatment, the abusers were OK in society. Thus, the reassignment with stipulation of psychiatric help was the correct action at the time, even according to medical professionals. Also, the complaint that Church officials did not report the incidents to the authorities is not really valid, as the requirements were not the same as today, and because the abuse was already reported by the families. The civil authorities also chose not to pursue the matter. In hindsight this all seems horrendous, but that is because we are using today's standards, and we have understanding of the disorder now that did not exist then. I do not write this to absolve everyone involved. They will answer to God for what they did or did not know, particularly as time passed and understanding increased. I just don't understand blaming the Pope for making what, at the time, was the best decision available.
-Christine
I never dreamed that HH BXVI would ruffle so many peoples' feathers. Truly he must be doing good if in these past few years of his pontificate he is constantly being targeted by the media. This is just the latest attack in the onslaught and I fear it will only get worse in the time to come, as the Enemy resorts to even fouler methods to attack Holy Mother Chuch. Let us pray for our pontif in this time of tribulation. Lord Jesus Christ, son fo God, have mercy on us and save us.
I also found it interesting that the very same week the priest abuse scandal once again reared its ugly head with full force (here during the Easter season no less), that the headlines also included the headlines: The World's Religions Attempt to Unite Under Tony Blair's Faith Foundation - not sure that included Catholicism and I believe Tony Blair has converted to Catholicism. This may be a benign coincidence or we are looking at beginnings of the formation of a One World Religion, as spoken of in the Bible.
None the less, the priest abuse scandal must be addressed and the church must be purged of this terrible pedophile activity. The Pope should call for the resignation of any priest who continues this, and come out with very strict consequences for the sake of the church and the good priests who reputations are being attacked as well. It will not go away and the victims live a life of shame and serious compromise to their pshychological well-being that never results in a normal life. It is a good example also that the devil knows no boundaries and the more priests he can take out, the better. As the Pope is calling for people of other churches to unite, such as the Anglicans and the Orthodox, how he deals with this issue this time around will have large consequences. Apologies, as he has done before, were sincere and heartfelt, but it needs to go further in this day and time.
(you may feel free to post this). God bless you and your family and Happy Easter!
Linda Smith
Santa Rosa Beach FL
I also found it interesting that the very same week the priest abuse scandal once again reared its ugly head with full force (here during the Easter season no less), that the headlines also included the headlines: The World's Religions Attempt to Unite Under Tony Blair's Faith Foundation - not sure that included Catholicism and I believe Tony Blair has converted to Catholicism. This may be a benign coincidence or we are looking at beginnings of the formation of a One World Religion, as spoken of in the Bible.
None the less, the priest abuse scandal must be addressed and the church must be purged of this terrible pedophile activity. The Pope should call for the resignation of any priest who continues this, and come out with very strict consequences for the sake of the church and the good priests who reputations are being attacked as well. It will not go away and the victims live a life of shame and serious compromise to their pshychological well-being that never results in a normal life. It is a good example also that the devil knows no boundaries and the more priests he can take out, the better. As the Pope is calling for people of other churches to unite, such as the Anglicans and the Orthodox, how he deals with this issue this time around will have large consequences. Apologies, as he has done before, were sincere and heartfelt, but it needs to go further in this day and time.
(you may feel free to post this). God bless you and your family and Happy Easter!
Linda Smith
Santa Rosa Beach FL
The media is so tiresome. They're not even original. I remember the speculations about JPII's resignation, too.
The Vatican can divulge every bit of info they have, and it will not quell the media feeding frenzy. There is enough info out there now that should be giving journalists pause. But there is no pause.
Look at the 'case' of Pius XII. There will never be enough information to change the minds of those who want to believe he was an active anti-semite.
I saw an AP article today giving the opinion of Pope John Paul II's attempted assassin, saying what he thinks ought to be done with Pope Benedict. How is it that someone who attempts to kill another person is given a global voice? There is an orchestrated effort to rain on the Catholic Easter Parade. Either it is intentional or they are inspired by a most un-holy spirit.
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