Catholic League president Bill Donohue today accused the New York Times of showing a bias against the Catholic Church:
“In today’s New York Times, there is a 524-word story about six protesters who held a news conference on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral criticizing the current New York Archbishop, Cardinal Edward Egan, and his newly named successor, Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan. On the opposite page, there is a picture of a demonstration at City Hall by union members; in a caption below the photo, there are 39 words explaining the event. But there is no story about it. Other New York newspapers said that ‘thousands’ showed up at the City Hall rally.
“In the Times story about the news conference at St. Pat’s, it says that protesters questioned the figures released by the archdiocese on the number of priests accused of molesting a minor; they also criticized Archbishop Dolan for not releasing the names of accused priests to the media (as if any organization does this!). What the Times did not find newsworthy is the story about a rabbi who is accused of sexually abusing his own daughter for years, beginning when she was 9 years old. There has been no story on this all week. (The Daily News and the New York Post both covered this story, though neither gave it the kind of front-page attention they almost always give to miscreant priests.)
“So there we have it. Six people show up at a rally to slam two high-ranking Catholic bishops about matters based on conjecture and disagreement, and it merits a sizeable story. But there is no story on thousands who show up at another rally on the same day, and there is no story about a rabbi who is accused by his daughter, his son and his ex-wife of sexually molesting his own child for years.
“The New York Times has some explaining to do.”
Contact NYT ombudsman Clark Hoyt at public@nytimes.com
