Newsflash: The media doesn't understand that the Catholic Church is not a democracy, and that the Vatican is not swayed by public opinion.
The proof of this disconnect came from ABC "World News Sunday" anchor Dan Harris and correspondent David Wright during the Aug. 16 "World News" broadcast. Wright's report on American nuns facing an apostolic visitation, labeled by Harris as "a controversial investigation," portrayed the Vatican as a big, bad bully of American nuns.
An apostolic visitation is "a formal but personal meeting with the superiors and members of a religious community which offers an opportunity to comment on various aspects of community and religious life," according to the Web site apostolicvisitation.org.
Two visitations are currently taking place. One concerns the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), which "represents 95 percent of female religious orders in America," and the other is focused on separate Institutes of Women Religious.
Three of the four nuns featured in Wright's segments expressed concerned about the visitation. Sister Sandra Schneiders of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, compared the process to "a grand jury indictment." Sister Mary Waskowiak told ABC she has "lost sleep over this" visitation. Sister Mary Daniel Turner claimed the visitation is a reflection on American Catholics in general. "I think the question is, that are being raised about our way of life, are questions that are confronting every Roman Catholic in this country."
Wright noted, "Officially, Mother Mary Clare Millea is charged with looking into the quality of life of all 60,000 American nuns, but liberal nuns worry the Vatican is trying to reign them in." He left out how liberal the nuns he talked with actually were. Schneiders has championed the ordination of women. Waskowiak serves on the advisory council for the left-leaning Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. As for the LCWR, Wright correctly reported the Conference also called for the ordination of women. But he omitted the fact that it had also, according to the New York Times, "failed to ‘promote' the church's teachings on...homosexuality and the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church as the means to salvation."
Mother Loraine Mary Clare, ostensibly brought in to provide "balance" to Wright's segment, insisted the visitation is "not an investigation," yet was not given the opportunity to explain the difference between the two.
And Harris insisted on using the term anyway, while working in a pro forma knock against priests. He said in his introduction, "It is not priests the Vatican is investigating, despite years of sex scandals."
Clearly, Harris and Wright's story proceeded from the assumption that Catholic orthodoxy is archaic and should be changed, and that Vatican efforts to ensure the propagation of that orthodoxy are sinister witch hunts.
The ABC report left out a crucial point: Membership in the Catholic Church is entirely voluntary. Besides, there is a long and venerable tradition of dissent from Catholic teachings. There is even a word for dissenters: "Protestants."
—Colleen Raezler is a research assistant at the Culture and Media Institute
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Dan Harris is correct--
August 18, 2009 - 12:17 ET by misterbill--why I can remember when Sister Georgine actually applied a ruler to my hands for misbehaving. Oh horror, those nuns destroyed me for life.They made me become a law abiding citizen.
And worse than that ..
August 18, 2009 - 12:51 ET by legacyrepublicanWorse than that, Sister Georgine turned you into a God fearing student taught to pray in school!
The Harris/Wilson story ...
August 18, 2009 - 12:22 ET by SentryDanThe Harris/Wilson story shows a clear lack of knowledge of the Catholic Church. Isn't it amazing how the Catholic Church goes out of its way not to bash other religons while other religons continue to bash the Catholic Church. How un-Christlike is that? Not saying the Catholic Church is perfect, but then is any religon perfect?
Wow, love the "examples" of
August 18, 2009 - 12:45 ET by motherbeltWow, love the "examples" of Catholic nuns that they picked to quote.
No wonder they are "concerned" at having the heirarchy of the Church visit!
And you are absolutely right, Colleen, they know nothing about the Catholic Church (but that doesn't stop them in the least from lecturing and imposing their own values on it). Get a gander at this from Newsweek a while ago:
Why Obama Represents American Catholics Better Than the Pope Does
Not "Does Obama..." but they are going to make the argument that he does, and explain "why." LOL
The hierarchy ignores women's equality and gays' cry for justice (take a guess at whose idea of "justice") because to heed them would require that it admit error and acknowledge
that the self-satisfied edifice constructed around sex and gender has
been grievously wrong (all emphasis mine)
Apparently Newsweek is of the impression that the Pope is a representative of the Catholic Church, not the leader, and he should "respresent" and take his cues from how American Catholics "feel" about things.
It's impossible to reason with people who think this way.
Sister Sandra Schneiders of
August 18, 2009 - 13:53 ET by Dan The Man 2Sister Sandra Schneiders of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, compared the process to "a grand jury indictment." Sister Mary Waskowiak told ABC she has "lost sleep over this" visitation
What does one expect from Berkley? And furthermore Im surprised Berkley would even entertain a school of Theology, but perhaps this Nun and the school is one they can tolerate?
Poor Sister Sandra has lost sleep over the vistation. Usually if one is following the tenants of Christianity then one has little worry and no lost sleep. Perhaps her consience is not completly seared and there is still a twinge of what is right and wrong in her.
Beating up on the RCC
August 18, 2009 - 14:00 ET by Galvanic"Clearly, Harris and Wright's story proceeded from the assumption that Catholic orthodoxy is archaic and should be changed, and that Vatican efforts to ensure the propagation of that orthodoxy are sinister witch hunts. "
The media is comfortable with criticizing the Roman Catholic Church because they have no fear of retaliation. This is obviously not the case when the media addresses the tenets of, say, Wahabbi/Safist Islam.
"The ABC report left out a crucial point: Membership in the Catholic Church is entirely voluntary. Besides, there is a long and venerable tradition of dissent from Catholic teachings. There is even a word for dissenters: "Protestants."
That is not to say that the Roman Catholic Church is resistant to change. As evidenced by Vatican II and other events, the Church does make changes within the boundaries of its doctrine.
I do find it curious that so many politicians who describe themselves as "Catholic" are vehemently opposed to the Church's standards, rules, etc. If they are so convinced that the Roman Catholic Church is not compliant with God's Will on Earth, why do they still profess membership?
beating up on the Catholic Church
August 18, 2009 - 15:59 ET by petitjeanpetitjean
I am definitely not a Catholic but it bothers me when I see other non-Catholics criticizing the church's policies. It has been a while since anyone in the present US was forced to become a member of any church by people other than parents.
Catholics don't interfere in my beliefs or stop me from my practices. By the same token, I give them the same respect. My wife is a somewhat lapsed Catholic. Out of respect for her parents I do try to take her to Mass on Days of Obligation. Attending Mass is difficult for me due to many old injuries and kneeling and arising and sitting down again are tough but I will do it out of respect for my in-laws.
Very few churches are democracies. In fact, this country was not founded as a democracy. I have challenged left-wing acquaintances to find the word "democracy in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution or even in any of the state constitutions. They become angry with me when they try and fail but I at least respect the effort. Most don't bother checking and I guess that lack of intellectual honesty is the mark of a real left winger.
petitjean
August 18, 2009 - 14:04 ET by jessieHLiberals want to change everything to suit them. We are not a democracy. We are a Republic. The pledge of allegance says nothing about a democracy. Of course liberals never say the pledge.
Neo-pagan/eco feminist nuns need to be investigated
August 18, 2009 - 14:56 ET by neripowellWhat else was left out of the report?
The LCWR regularly invites and supports dissident speakers to its annual conferences. One recent speaker urged the sisters to adopt a style of religious life that "goes beyond religion, beyond the Church. Even beyond Jesus himself."
Radical sisters in the US Church support abortion rights, contraception, women's ordination, and many other left-liberal political agenda items that openly defy basic Church teaching. "Social justice" long ago replaced "gospel living" in these orders.
Leaders in many women's congregations have adopted neo-pagan/eco-feminist theologies that look nothing like Christianity under any description. If only these women were just "Protestant"!
Many congregations describe themselves as "post-Eucharistic, post ecclesial," separating themselves from the "patriarchial structures of the institutional Church." Largely because of this reckless definance, the numbers of women religious have declines sharply.
While this forty-year tantrum of adolescent attention-seeking has run its course, traditional orders of women that adhere to the magisterium of the Church and keep to devotional practices are thriving. What sane young Catholic woman wants to join an order of angry, bitter, feminist rebels?
No doubt women religious have been mistreated by bishops in the past. And few doubt that nuns and sisters have been exploited as cheap labor for Catholic institutions. But contemporary sisters can hardly makes these claims nowadays. Some of the wealthiest insitutions within the Church belong to these dissident women. Ask any orthodox priest or seminarian to describe who it was in his training-days who abused their power in his seminariy to oppress his orthodoxy. The answer will most likely begin with, "Well, Sister ____ was the worst."
To the Vatican: "Investigate away! And. . .'bout time."
Fr Philip (http://www.hancaquam...)
picking on religions
August 18, 2009 - 16:13 ET by petitjeanpetitjean
It is notable that the media doesn't wish to broadcast "Fitna" or even permit an honest discussion of the contents of the Koran. I have several translations of the Koran in various languages. Alas, Arabic isn't among these but the translations I have are given to American and British Muslims as well as German, Spanish and French Muslims. Mr. Geert Wilders in "Fitna" only scratches the surface.
A similar review of the New Testament in various versions reveals a book of kindness toward one's fellow humans. It is inevitable that when arguments or religions start from totally different principles, the results would differ. I have seen this in science and even in my own discipline in physical sciences of chemistry. Phlogiston has come and gone as have several crackpot theories based upon the evidence of their utility or lack thereof. I am reminded of Ayn Rand saying, "check your premises".
Sounds like Army IG
August 18, 2009 - 17:41 ET by RR GOPSounds like Army IG visits..."This a courtesy inspection only. No, really."
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.