Missing His Holiness (Get ready for a month of the most disingenuous coverage imaginable.)

The American Prowler ^ | 4/5/2005 | George Neumayr

[nickcarraway]

Pope John Paul II's most impressive quality was the one that most media encomiums over the weekend didn't even bother to mention: his intense personal piety. He was at once the most public Catholic and the most private one, reading a breviary on airplanes and retreating to his sparsely furnished quarters to pray as Jesus Christ taught: "When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." In an anxiety-ridden, distracted age, when the idea of praying for even four minutes a day sounds taxing, Pope John Paul II prayed for four hours.

It was fitting that he lived past Easter: his speechless struggling during Holy Week was more powerful than words in testifying to a life of perseverance in silent prayer and confirmed that though he was dying he would soon rise like the God whose sufferings he shared to the end.

But a worldly press corps finds the Pope's personal holiness boring, if not a bit suspicious and troubling (the New York Times' obituary writers, arching their brows, reported that "some" sources said that "in private he was somber, serious, enigmatic, sometime quixotic, a man who hid his feelings and did not say much." Boy, what a weirdo.) So it largely reduces Pope John Paul II to a worldly personality, a pretty nice, even fun, humanitarian who said some things liberal journalists like to hear from time to time (though it doesn't occur to them that he reached the positions they liked by reasoning they'd never accept, such as concern for the salvation of a criminal's soul). If the press cast him as a holy man, it is not because of his frequent fasting but because of his "statements against world hunger," not because of his piety, but because of his politics.

In the end, the journalists' coverage, ostensibly about the Pope, is more about their minds and souls than his. Like Ron Reagan Jr.- who had no use for his Dad's politics in life but claimed his legacy in death -- the Keith Olbermanns now jump on the papal bandwagon (that they had tried in various ways over the last 26 years to upend) in the hopes of steering it toward a liberalism Pope John Paul II would find abhorrent. Get ready for a month of the most disingenuous coverage imaginable.

Apparently we're supposed to believe that the Paula Zahns and Aaron Browns stay up late at night fretting over the future welfare of the Catholic Church. When they ask this or that unctuous guest -- usually some habitless nun, Jesuit ninny, or obvious heretic like Richard McBrien -- whether the Church will, say, junk its teaching on condoms or bless birth control, we're supposed to believe that they have the Church's best interests at heart. Every problem they cite in the Church -- from the sex scandals to the decline in vocations -- is due to the very wordly liberalism they demand more of. They feign shock over indiscipline in the Church (with the abuse scandal) but in truth they want more of it (hence their knee-jerks calls for "decentralization"). Their interest in reforming the Catholic Church is about as sincere as their interest in reforming the Republican Party: calls for "reform" are just self-projection and will amount to separating Catholicism from Christ.

Toward the end of liberalizing the Church, the media will look for fixes to problems from the liberal clerics most responsible for causing them-- such as Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, who couldn't fly to Rome fast enough to start politicking with reporters in tow for a liberal pope.

Pope John Paul II knew that a worldly liberalism had derailed the Church and was trying to remove it. The project of the next pope is to finish that job. The media's "whether or not you agreed with them, you respected the intensity of his principles" formulation is nonsense: they didn't respect Pope John Paul II for his principles but for his power, a power they have long wanted to appropriate for their own liberal purposes.

Their idea of honoring Pope John Paul II is to mau-mau the Church into embracing heresies that he deplored. The greatness of his life consisted in what the press ignores and seeks to undo in the Church: holiness, the measure of which is never the will of men but of God. The Pope made such a powerful impression on the world not because he was wordly but because he was otherworldly. A godless age had left an enormous vacuum; only a man who conformed his life to God could fill it.

[nickcarraway]

ping

[Mo1]

Oh my ... no mincing words here

[Petronski]

Church teaching has its "Catholic" enemies right here on FR.


It WILL be ugly.

[onyx]

Wow, this is a keeper.
I am sick to death of "former" sister's so and so
screeching about women being necessary in the priesthood
because we're so short of priests. JMJ.

I haven't detected personal swipes at JPtheGreat:
they've been too busy highlighting his differences
with POTUS regarding Iraq.

[Mo1]

I am sick to death of "former" sister's so and so screeching about women being necessary in the priesthood because we're so short of priests. JMJ.

I was sick of hearing that 20+ years about and I haven't changed my mind since

[onyx]

I saw one today who was so damn off-putting.
A truly sorry creature.
Pathetic.

[cyborg]

Same here.

[maryz]

Another Catholic ping!

Apparently we're supposed to believe that the Paula Zahns and Aaron Browns stay up late at night fretting over the future welfare of the Catholic Church. When they ask this or that unctuous guest -- usually some habitless nun, Jesuit ninny, or obvious heretic like Richard McBrien -- whether the Church will, say, junk its teaching on condoms or bless birth control, we're supposed to believe that they have the Church's best interests at heart.

[Caipirabob]

Be strong, my Catholic friends. The media sees any Pope willing to do his job properly as a major threat. Be prepared for the most horrid accusations against all Catholics. Get ready for a parade of shows on TV attempting to portray the history of the Catholic Church painting the world in blood. Be prepared for some of the nastiest commentary from every liberal host and "newsman" that has a toungue between their teeth. "Aint gonna be pretty" is an understatement towards their hatred of all things Godly and in his name.

[goldstategop]

The Left will never understand two things: 1) religion and 2) conservatism. They will seek to subvert that which they fear and they will seek to destroy that which they hate. Nothing frightens the Left more than the things of the spirit and above all they hate those who would have mankind claim and cherish it as its most precious possession.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Actually_in_Tokyo]

It's another case of "which way the wind blows" and aligning with that. It can be withstood as necessary for a temporary, specific time period, after which "normal" criticism can continue.

[hershey]

PBS ran a scathing view of John Paul ll's life last night, missing no opportunity to minimize the good he's done and maximizing his guilt for a baker's list of wrongs. All from the PC/feminist/abortionist point of view. And by the way, if you don't know already, according to PC thinkers and their ilk, the Pope is to blame for millions dying in Africa of AIDs because he didn't promote condoms. That he promoted self restraint and not having sex at the drop of a hat wasn't mentioned.

[xsmommy]

When they ask this or that unctuous guest -- usually some habitless nun, Jesuit ninny, or obvious heretic like Richard McBrien -- whether the Church will, say, junk its teaching on condoms or bless birth control, we're supposed to believe that they have the Church's best interests at heart. Every problem they cite in the Church -- from the sex scandals to the decline in vocations -- is due to the very wordly liberalism they demand more of. They feign shock over indiscipline in the Church (with the abuse scandal) but in truth they want more of it (hence their knee-jerks calls for "decentralization"). Their interest in reforming the Catholic Church is about as sincere as their interest in reforming the Republican Party: calls for "reform" are just self-projection and will amount to separating Catholicism from Christ

My fave part. OReilly had McBrien on last week and i had never heard of him but was outraged by what he said. I found out on a thread on FR that he was a well known heretic. the media can frame this for the public by choosing their guests.

[goldstategop]

Secular people believe in situational values. Its why the Left's been so aggressive in driving religion out of the public square. They don't want to be reminded of things that restrict the pursuit of their selfish pleasures.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Mo1]

Thought you might like this article

I didn't see McBrien .. but the media has a bad habit of bringing out the most liberal catholics to speak for all catholics ...

It annoys the daylights out of me

[Bahbah]

his speechless struggling during Holy Week was more powerful than words

I cannot recall the sight of this without tears.

[leadhead]

The Left will never understand two things: 1) religion and 2) conservatism

The Republican Party is having a hard time understanding them also.

[apillar]

Here is what I learned about the Pope from listening to National Public Radio:

The Pope was a liberal who's main message was redistribution of wealth / social equity / social justice. The only time the Pope was wrong or shortsighted was when he took a conservative position on issues such as abortion, gay rights, stem cell research etc. However, NPR went on to reassure their listeners that when the Pope "messed up" by taking a conservative position it didn't really matter because rank and file catholics ignored him on these type of issues anyway.

Then the panel of NPR "experts" debated what they wanted in the next Pope. The consensus ended up being as "liberal" as the previous Pope on the social equity / social justice issues. But more "in line" with rank and file catholics on abortion, gay rights etc. Also they "expected" the new pope to "look at" allowing women into the priesthood and allowing priests to marry.

[Lancey Howard]

BUMP!