Posted on 09/29/2003 7:20:06 PM PDT by Pikamax
BBC accused of 'hostile' attitude to Catholics
Claire Cozens Monday September 29, 2003
A Catholic archbishop has delivered an excoriating attack on the BBC, accusing it of a "hostile" attitude to the Catholic church and claiming its reporters had harassed a sick and elderly priest. The Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols, described the BBC's coverage of the church as "totally unacceptable", and said a series of planned programmes were "biased and hostile".
"The Catholic community is fed up seeing a public service broadcaster using the licence fee to pay unscrupulous reporters trying to recirculate old news and to broadcast programmes that are so biased and hostile," said Dr Nichols in a speech delivered at an impromptu press conference called today.
The archbishop, who has worked for the corporation in the past, said he had decided to speak out on behalf of the Catholic church after receiving reports of "unsolicited and strange" approaches from people saying they were working for the BBC.
Dr Nichols described how one reporter gained access to a care home by claiming to be a "Catholic and a friend" before "cornering" a priest in his late 70s to press him for information.
On another occasion, he said, a reporter had approached a priest with a "barrage of questions of a deeply personal and intrusive nature" that "gave the impression of a personal vendetta".
"This, I believe, is totally unacceptable behaviour. It callously takes advantage of people's vulnerability at night and their need for sleep, it disregards a right to privacy, and it exploits a person's illness and infirmity," he said.
"The actions of these reporters brings discredit to the good name and reputation of the BBC."
Dr Nichols said he had written to the the BBC director general, Greg Dyke, and the director of news, Richard Sambrook, more than a week ago asking for their comments but had received only a holding letter in reply.
And he described two planned BBC programmes, a Panorama special on the Vatican entitled Sex and the Holy City, and a satirical sketch show, Popetown, as "offensive initiatives".
Dr Nichols said the timing of the two shows, and of a planned episode of Kenyon Confronts tackling allegations of child abuse in the Catholic church, meant they would coincide with the celebration of the silver jubilee of Pope John Paul II and the beatification of Mother Theresa.
"The fact that so many people of all faiths hold both the Pope and Mother Theresa in high regard, and that most people recognise the emotional and historical significance of these moments, seem to escape the programme planners of the BBC," he said.
The attack comes amid mounting concern among church leaders over coverage of the Catholic church.
A leader in the latest issue of the Birmingham Catholic News asked: "What's got into the BBC?" and continued: "It would appear the BBC is blind to its own anti-Catholic prejudice and deaf to its Catholic audience.
"Now is the time for the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, led by the bishops, to make a stand."
Dr Nichols' attack comes three years after the BBC came under fire from the Church of England for cutting back on religious programming and replacing it with "trite drivel".
The row, which was sparked by a reorganisation of religious programmes at the corporation, led to the BBC presenter Joan Bakewell quitting the moral debate programme, The Heart of the Matter, claiming the corporation had neglected its religious output by cutting the programme's budget and moving it to a late-night slot.
Shortly after Bakewell's departure the show was axed and the Rev Ernie Rea resigned as head of the corporation's religious broadcasting unit, allegedly in protest at the downgrading of religious coverage.
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