Posted on 05/30/2014 3:54:57 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
I haven't seen the [AP Stylebook's] new religion chapter, but I have seen how the press generally reports on Catholicism -- and it seems like there are already some agreed-upon guidelines. For instance:
Catholics in the news. If an actor, a football player, a CEO, or any other reasonably decent, successful or attractive person is a practicing Catholic, that is never relevant, and any reference to receiving the sacraments or belief in God must be edited out for clarity and brevity. However, if the story is about a transvestite stripper, a comedian who draws heavily on the comedic value of abortion and masturbation... refer to him or her as a devout Catholic...
Catholic women. Catholic women fall into two categories: pro-life ones, who are self-loathing and mentally deficient, and pro-choice ones, who are brave.
Nuns. Basic rule of thumb: if the nuns in question are teaching Catholic theology, they torture pregnant girls in a laundromat or something. However, if the nuns in question are on a bus, then they are brave.
Science. Galileo.
[snip]
Priests. If the word “priest” appears in a story in any context whatsoever, it is stylistically necessary to balance it out with the phrase “pedophile” within two inches of text. A corollary rule is that, if the story is about a homosexual who is not a priest, the word “pedophile” is banned...
In general, when reporting on Catholic issues, no fact-checking. There is no online Catechism handily indexed according to topic; there is no such thing as a Catholic encyclopedia which gives you a short synopsis of Church history; there is no About.com page to explain Catholic customs and practices in clear, accessible language.
[snip]
Overview. The Catholic Church...can be fairly and concisely summed up [as] Galileo, Galileo, pedophile priest, Galileo.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Wonder why the anti-Galileo AP types want to drag Galileo’s name through the mud.
Both funny and sad, Mrs. Don-o
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