WSJ cartoon against Bp. Morlino with a workshop on the WSJ’s lack of professionalism

WDTPRS ^ | August 8, 2013 | Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

[NYer]

Again and again we see liberals and the MSM (virtually all liberal) cherry-pick a quote of Pope Francis and then run with it as if, by itself, it actually means something profoundly in harmony with their liberal agenda.

I saw this on the blog of Syte Reitz. She vivisects the choice by the editors of the Wisconsin State Journal to post an editorial cartoon which aims to pit Bishop Robert Morlino (of Madison) against Pope Francis.

Context: on 1 August Bp. Morlino observed his 10th anniversary of being appointed as Bishop of Madison and there were articles in the paper about him.

The piece by Reitz serves as a good defense of a good bishop. It also serves as a workshop for how the lib media operates.

Here is the first part. I strongly encourage you to read the whole thing there. Her blog entry formatting is a little confusing, but you will catch on after a bit (hint: she isn’t posting separate entries on each point).

Wisconsin State Journal Flunks Journalism Again!
or
What’s Wrong With Gay Marriage?

Two days after getting some praise for their balanced article on Bishop Morlino, the Wisconsin State Journal was back to its old games, misrepresenting the Bishop yet again.
They managed to shoot themselves in the foot quite handsomely this time.

Here’s a cartoon they published, quoting both Pope Francis and Bishop Morlino out of context, in an attempt to make it seem that Bishop Morlino is in disagreement with the Pope:

How Does This Cartoon Shoot WSJ in the Foot?

How does WSJ shoot itself in the foot with this cartoon?
Let me count the ways:

1. It’s unprofessional to nest your references so deep that the original source being quoted can hardly be found.
2. It’s unprofessional to compare apples and oranges.
3. It’s unprofessional to quote your sources out of context.
4. It’s unprofessional to ignore the Bigger Story
5. It’s unprofessional to contradict yourself.
6. It’s unprofessional for a journalist to spin the news. (And it’s triply embarrassing when you spin it badly and get caught.)

[In the whole entry at her blog she goes through each point. I'll give you just a couple of them.]

This unprofessional behavior would be more suited to the grapevine whispering game, in which messages become unrecognizably altered as they are whispered from person to person in a chain, than to a professional journalist.

• It’s unprofessional to nest your references so deep that nobody can find the original source being quoted.

So, in his efforts to malign and misrepresent Bishop Morlino, Phil Hands had to dig far and deep, and ended up quoting out of context from a homily given by Bishop Morlino in 2006.
In fact, Phil Hands quoted Doug Erickson’s artilce, who quoted a 2006 Bill Wineke article, who quoted Bishop Morlino’s homily from the 2006 Madison Catholic Herald, out of context.

• It’s unprofessional to compare apples and oranges.

Phil Hands was comparing Pope Francis’ comments about a Catholic homosexual who is following Church teaching on chastity, with Bishop Morlino’s comments on the the legal repercussions of governmental redefinition of marriage. Those repercussions have already violated the religious freedom rights of Catholics and have already closed Catholic adoption agencies. More on the legal details in the Appendix below. But suffice it to say that comparing discussion of chaste Catholic homosexuals with discussion of the legal implications of redefining marriage is not a very professional move on the part of Phil Hands.

• It’s unprofessional to quote your sources out of context.

Pope Francis’ statement in context:

In these situations, it’s important to distinguish between a gay person and a gay lobby, because having a lobby is never good. If a gay person is a person of good will who seeks God, who am I to judge? The Catechism of the Church explains this very beautifully. It outlines that gays should not be marginalized. The problem is not having this [homosexual] orientation. No, we must be brothers and sisters. The problem is lobbying for this orientation, or lobbies of greed, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the most serious problem for me. And thank you so much for this question. Thank you very much!

Bishop Morlino’s statment in context:

I’m spending time on this today because we’ve got a battle. We’ve got a battle at the federal level in June and we’ve got a battle at the state level in November. And I’m serious about it, I can’t imagine what happens if marriage goes down the tubes. If marriage goes down the tubes, life will become one big custody suit. And who will decide who raises children and how they get raised? The State, more and more and more. Marriage goes down the tubes, the State will be deciding who gets custody and how the kids get taught. And when the State does that, rather than the natural parents, that’s the end of democracy.

In context, both Pope Francis’ comments and Bishop Morlino’s comments mean something quite different than what Phil Hands tried to imply in his cartoon.

It’s unprofessional to ignore the Bigger Story

[...]

Read the whole thing.

[NYer]

Ping!

[mosesdapoet]

Obamacare Ruling: Religious Employers MUST Provide Birth Control Coverage
Saturday, June 29, 2013 9:21:10 AM · 22 of 24
mosesdapoet to shalom aleichem
Obama: ‘If Catholics (and Protestants) Have Their Schools ... That Encourages Division’
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 5:29:13 PM · 46 of 51
mosesdapoet to Zakeet
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ?
This address to the Irish, made during his stay in europe for the June 2013 Summit 8 conference accompanied by his usual entourage of hundreds as payback for their support at US expence, was made as a side trip might make it to the national scene but our media will sit on and too soon forgotten.

Isn’t It Time To Realize This Party Isn’t “Democratic”?
But DEMO-COM ?

The democrat party after taking complete control of both the House and Senate in 2008. Lost the House in 2010 thanks to the opposition by loosely organized groups known as the tea party later characterized by members of the administration as “terrorists”..

Despite that shellacking the word and reference to GOD was removed at their 2012 national convention. A fact that went un-noticed, un-touched, un-mentioned, and un-used by the RINOS and GOPES (GOP elite snobs) during that presidential 2012 election and now who are still running todays Republican party.

Even after reconsideration the decision was derided by the majority because it was re-installed over a majority voice vote supporting the removal.

If this were a political party in a parlimentary system it would be hyphenated and would (and should despite the difference) be refered to as the Demo-Com party. But the RINOS and GOPES can’t even call them “socialist”.

It’s time to understand and face the facts that everything that has been edicted and ruled since that time including discarding the traditional concept of marriage has come out of the closet must be refuted.

Any Catholic or Christian claiming to belong to this party is a hyprocrite and should be confronted and isolated with disgust and distain.

[ClearCase_guy]

It's just a variation on "fake but accurate".

The cartoon is completely off-base -- but it pushes the right agenda, so it's OK.

[rwa265]

Bishop Morlino and Pope Francis are both totally in agreement with Catholic teaching.

Bishop Morlino’s 2006 homily - “Those who want to defend marriage out of anti-gay sentiments have their own sins to worry about and I don’t want to be in their number when the sinners come marching in, if I can help it.”

Pope Francis response - “The Catechism of the Church explains this very beautifully. It outlines that gays should not be marginalized.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2358 - “(Gays) must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”