Pope Benedict and the American Media

NewsMax ^ | 4/23/2005 | Fr. Michael Reilly

[Hugenot]

Once again, the media have failed miserably in their attempt to bully the Catholic Church into accepting their agenda.

In American politics, the media are able to frame the debate on key issues by negatively portraying elected officials who disagree with their agenda or by commissioning and touting push polls. Story Continues Below

Throughout the Terri Schiavo controversy, the media informed the public that the entire American public objected to Republican efforts in Congress to protect her life. After she was dead, it was revealed that there were serious flaws in the polls and that in reality nearly 80 percent of the American public actually believe that it was wrong to starve her to death. Likewise, the media are able to damage the credibility of key people, and by extension their ideas, by labeling them. While the label "right wing" or "conservative" is regularly applied to some commentators, the media never apply the "liberal" label to other commentators. Barbra Streisand is simply Barbra Streisand, as compared to the "very conservative" Charlton Heston. Rush Limbaugh is the "conservative" radio host, but Al Franken is just a radio host.

In a similar way, the media shamelessly attempted to bully the cardinals in their selection of the 265th pope.

Frustrated by their inability to influence the 2004 presidential election at home, the media regularly floated polls indicating that American Catholics disagree with key Church teachings on human life and sexuality. They also described nearly each of the leading papabile as either "promising prospects" or "hard-line traditionalists."

The press went out of its way to find prominent Catholics to say that the selection of Cardinal Ratzinger would be "divisive." They have called him everything from the papal enforcer to the enemy of academic freedom in Catholic universities.

Much to their dismay, in one of the shortest conclaves in history, Cardinal Ratzinger was recognized by more than two-thirds of the world's cardinals as a man who could lead more than 1 billion Catholics throughout the world.

How did the cardinals opt for a man who came to symbolize conservative Catholicism throughout the reign of John Paul II? Maybe it's because their view of Cardinal Ratzinger is based on personal experience and knowledge of the Church, rather than through the lens of the American media.

Now the media are dismissing the cardinals as "out of touch" with their followers. Maybe the cardinals of the Catholic Church simply dismiss the American media as irrelevant.

[SkyPilot]

Amen. Also, the "nickname" the media keeps calling the new Pope as "God's Rottweiler" is a lie. He was never called that until this week, and ABCNBCCBSCNNMSNBC keeps repeating it.

[frankiep]

Right on!

The media's coverage of all of this has been nothing short of disgusting and filled with arrogance. They (MSM elites) view everything in their world as just another forum where they can push their agenda. The way in which they covered the conclave as if it was a vote on a bill in congress is proof of this. And now that they have seen that their wishes have been completely ignored by the Catholic Church they have switched gears to attack the Church's choice of Pope by telling all of us dimwits that it is the absolutely worst decision that could have been made. After all, they are sooooo much smarter than us.

[Cicero]

Fr. Michael Reilly

Fr. Michael Reilly was ordained a Roman Catholic priest by Cardinal John O’Connor in 1992 and is currently serving as Dean at St. Josephy by-the-Sea High School in Staten Island, New York. He served as Chairman of the Staten Island Clergy Conference from 2000-2002. He holds an M.A. in Theology and a PhD. In Educational Administration. He coordinates the NewsMax/St. Josephy by-the-Sea Internship Program and is a regular contributor to Inside Cover and Special Commentary at Newsmax.com.

[nothingnew]

The quotes around the MSM comments just reaffirm one of my basic beliefs...words mean something...and can be used in a beneficial or desructive fashion. We know how they use words, don't we?

FMCDH(BITS)

[CFC__VRWC]

The press went out of its way to find prominent Catholics to say that the selection of Cardinal Ratzinger would be "divisive." They have called him everything from the papal enforcer to the enemy of academic freedom in Catholic universities.

Father Reilly is being too kind. You can't read a single news story without finding "Nazi" or "Hitler Youth" right near the top.

[OpusatFR]

The American media is useless.

Getting information about anything other than some pitiful ego driven agenda is impossible. They cover nothing.

Thank Goodness the web supplies info on foreign news, business, economics, information in general.

The American media is the poster child for the "Ugly American." It knows nothing, says nothing, relates to nothing that exists outside its New York, Washington and LA studios and publishing houses.

I'm glad they cover fluff and cr@p. It allows everyone else to ignore them.

[sd-joe]

>> "God's Rottweiler" <<

Rottweilers are wonderful dogs. They are calm, not overly excitable and very friendly to those who are friendly to them. Of course, if you threaten them or their people, they turn into fearsome beings.

Maybe in this time of social degradation, God can use a Rottweiler.

[crazyhorse691]

The Cardinal is being way too kind about the MSM. The MSM couldn't save America from Bush and they couldn't save the Catholic Church from themselves, so, they are even more actively slamming anything not like them. It's not news unless its Bushs and the Popes fault the man bit the dog.

[MSSC6644]

Maybe in this time of social degradation, God can use a Rottweiler

I agree. This is the time for a defender of the True Faith, so the appellation seems appropriate to me, too

[WOSG]

LOL ... good cartoon ... too bad our local rag wouldnt run any cartoon like that.