Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Misunderstanding the New Pope
What are we to make of all the news coverage of the new Pope, Benedict XVI. If you read the news coverage, Atilla the Hun has taken over the Vatican.
As I have followed the news coverage of Cardinal Ratzinger’s elevation to the papacy I have been deeply discouraged by their treatment of one of the most brilliant theologians in the Catholic Church. They have treated this man as if he were Atilla, Stalin, Hitler and Mao all rolled together in one - or worse, the Catholic George W. Bush. Why such coverage of a man who is almost universally revered as not only a great thinker, but a self-effacing gentle soul who loves people, cats, and lemonade?
The simple fact, as I see it is that the media cannot understand the religious world. Be it in the coverage of the Senate fillibuster situation, the Terri Schiavo situation, or the elevation of this new Pope (whose predecessor was not the easy going, let by-gones be by-gones the media is now saying he was) the coverage by the news media shows they just don’t have the categories to understand this new Pope or the calling of the religious life.
The following article is my (somewhat harsh I am sad to admit) coverage of their coverage.
Feel free to comment or email me your throughts.
Christopher Morton
The Roving Theologian
Misunderstanding_the_New_Pope.doc
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