Can the Associated Press REALLY be launching a "smear campaign" against the catholic church?

The 'smear campaign' and 'gossip' comments emerging from the Vatican show how arrogantly dismissive they are of the scandal. Which centres on the way the hierarchy as a whole - bishops, arch-bishops, cardinals and popes - have failed to stamp out this evil, regarding canonical law as above the need to inform police etc - and allowing priests to stay on 'in service' to abuse even more children.

As bishop of Munich, Ratzinger/Benedict XVI is alleged to have been involved personally, as he would certainly have been more recently, as one of the most influential Cardinals in Rome.

The cover-ups constitute conspiracy and ultimate blame rests with the current and previous popes who have most authority in this strictly regulated church.

Yesterday, Vincent Nichols, the RC Archbishop of Westminster had the grace to admit "guilt" but of course related it to the 'catholic community'. He has no permission or authority to refer to the hierarchy as a whole - only the pope can do that and he shows no sign of coming clean.

Until he does, his 'holiness' can only expect a lot more heat from the media.

Actually the Associated Press has been less biased than the New York Times that first carried the story that the Pope intervened and stopped the canonical court from trying a priest who had been charged with having sex with young homosexual boys about 50 years ago. The facts are that the trial was ongoing according to the prosecutor and the Pope did not intervene. Instead the accused priest died just a few days after the Pope was informed of the trial. The basis of the story in the New York Times was a lawyer who has made over 60 million dollars suing the Church fabricated a document saying that it was stopped by the Pope.

http://catholicanchor.org/wordpress/?p=601

The stories truly are just idle gossip with no basis in fact.

The truth is the Pope has done a great job of nearly ending all abuse in the Church. Because of him the Church has become an example of how to end the abuse in all Churches. He has been the right leader at the right time to address this problem. God bless!

In Christ

Fr. Joseph

Yes!! Anti-Catholicism is alive and well. Prejudice against the Church is long-standing and acceptable in most circles. Also, ratings make what is considered news, not truth.

There is a lot to know and understand about sex abuse and about the Catholic Church. Be aware that while some facts are being reported they are worded so as to lead the reader to a conclusion that may or may not be true. This is where you have to be careful.

While the allegations may be true, the assumptions surrounding it are not and the leaps from fact to fiction are made without question.

<<What reason would the AP have in wanting to smear the catholic church?>>

Ratings!!

The Church has been guilty of some of these things.However, the idea that the Church is the only one who has dealt with this issue is where the smear campaign comes in. It isn't what its about, it is the all out attack on the Catholic Church as if it is alone in this. The Catholic Church has become the fall guy, and there are many, many pedophiles and organizations happy that the focus is on the Catholic Church.

Of the 93% of child sexual abuse cases...%17 percent are against teachers and educators! Many of whom have been shuffled (by school authorities) to different schools, promoted, etc. in order to avoid embarrassment and/or prosecution. While this is not a justification for any priest to have hurt a child, it goes to show you that the media picks and chooses what to focus on and literally leads the public to specific conclusions.

well then.... if it's not a smear campaign why do you not hear of all the others that have had similar problems? http://www.reformation.com/

depending on your age, if you are at least 50, i'm sure in school you were disciplined differently than your grandkids.... you were probably spanked if you were bad too -- now that's abusive. sadly, back in the 50's and 60's things were looked at differently.

why does the Church need to tell you < I am a father and grandfather and I WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!> you're not Catholic so why do you care so much. you should care more about what is going on in your kids schools as there are MORE TEACHERS that are abusing students - did you know 9.5% of all students were abused the other year??

<I ONLY HAVE access to newspapers and television!!> you're on line now aren't you? that is another form of information.

<I do NOT have an inside line to the truth...... as so many catholics claim to have!!> THAT IS A LOAD OF HOOEY.... no Catholic claims to have an inside line to the truth BUT WE HAVE A HEAD AND USE IT.... most of these cases coming forward are from the 50's and 60's and those priests are dead or dying. the Church made drastic changes in their seminary programs. We are also of the brain pattern that -- 2% of the whole does not destroy or contaminate the whole group. Gracious if that were the case there would be no Christianity -- for 12% of Christ own group were evil.

you know, you've asked similar questions before and have been given answers, i guess you're not really looking for an answer though, you only want to fuel your "rage"

Anti-Catholic bias has a long history, as do other kinds of bias, such as anti-clericalism. And it would be silly to assume that some of the relish with which these stories of priestly abuse are recounted is not driven by bigotry. That said, Catholicism has long institutionalized a very weird system in which clergy self-select for deviance, where deviance is excused and/or denied, and where the educational and charitable missions of the faith, in combination with historical and economic forces, place generations of young people at the disposal of religious abusers. So if the shoe fits ... If it makes you feel better, though, Islam is also barking mad and on balance, even more bloody-minded. Do you suppose that, at base, the commonality is that these communities believe in a deity and give temporal authority to priests empowered to teach and interpret scripture?

For years many People feared the Church and that no longer is the case.

Finally abuses are widely reported and it is time that the Abused are being heard and not hurt any longer.

There is no smear campaign. The church is full of dirt and needs to be cleaned up.

And the Catholic Church is not the only one guilty of sexual abuses. That is a fact.

This whole affair seems to have brought out those who have something against the Catholic church. People have the right to feel shocked or dismayed, but I do detect an extreme prejudice at work that I didn't see before. It has certainly brought out the anti-church brigade.

I do not feel in any way slighted as a Catholic because the definition of "church" that I was brought up to believe is not merely the hierarchical church of the pope, cardinals, bishops or priests but the overwhelming majority of ordinary people (the laity) within it. It was for these simple folk that Jesus walked the earth and was crucified.

What the press says is ultimately unimportant. Even if nobody knew about it, the fact that the catholic church protected priests who abused children is what it is: a shameful disgrace to all involved.

I do not know about the AP but the New York Times has done its share of misreporting on the issue.

Here is George Weigel's column detailing the Media's feeding frenzy on the Catholic Church: http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/03/sco...

Here is Father Thomas Brundage's account (he was the judge) of the trial of Father Lawrence Murphy and the misreporting of the media: http://catholicanchor.org/wordpress/?p=601

With love in Christ.

No.

Reporting a smidgen of the truth is not a smear campaign, it's their job. The truth hurts, RCC.