Bill Donohue comments on media coverage of Pope Francis:
Every sentient human being knows about the published reflections that Pope Francis offered last week on a variety of subjects. But few know about other matters he recently addressed, and that is because the media are not happy with his decisions. Here are four examples.
- In a homily given on September 16, the pope said “a good Catholic meddles in politics.”
- In his published interview released September 19, 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, he denounced abortion as part of our “throwaway culture.”
- On September 21, 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. His comments on abortion received some coverage, but not much: only ABC “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.
