Every sentient human being knows about the published reflections that Pope Francis offered at the end of September on a variety of subjects. But few know about the other matters he recently addressed, and that is because the media are not happy with the pope’s decisions. Here are four examples.

  • In a homily that was given on September 16, 2013, the pope said “a good Catholic meddles in politics.”
  • In his published interview released September 19, 2013, the pope spoke against priests who are “too lax.” By that he meant, “[T]he loose minister washes his hands by simply saying, ‘This is not a sin,’ or something like that.”
  • On September 20, 2013, he denounced abortion as part of our “throwaway culture.”
  • On September 21, 2013, one Australian newspaper reported that a heretical priest, Greg Reynolds, was excommunicated by the Vatican for his activism on behalf of women priests and gay marriage.

There was a virtual blackout on the pope’s homily urging Catholics to meddle in politics. Very few mentioned that in his well-publicized interview he cited lax priests for denying the existence of sin. The pope’s comments on abortion received some coverage, but not much: only ABC’s “World News Tonight” mentioned it among the big broadcasters. Aside from a few Catholic and gay blogs, news about the dissident Australian priest being excommunicated received almost zero coverage.

Most of those who work in the elite media are pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage. Not all are biased, but too many are. They have a vested ideological interest in flagging stories about the pope that may gin up the left and alienate conservatives; they also have a political interest in burying stories that have the opposite effect.

The media need a Catholic whistle-blower for its papal coverage. We gladly accept the invitation.