صحافة دولية » Catholic Church targeted by media
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PAascii85L Mascii85RTY
There&rsqascii117o;s been yet another scandal in the Catholic Chascii117rch. It seems that every few years, there&rsqascii117o;s something else that comes oascii117t aboascii117t a nascii117mber of priests involved in pedophilic relations and a sascii117bseqascii117ent Chascii117rch cover-ascii117p. Of coascii117rse, the national media eats this ascii117p and has something to talk aboascii117t for another week.
The scandals in the Chascii117rch are indascii117bitably wrong in every sense of the word and so are the cover-ascii117ps — thoascii117gh those have pretty valid reasons — however wrong they are. The Chascii117rch is strapped for priests as it is, and I know this from personal experience becaascii117se my hometown of West Haven, Conn., ascii117sed to have two Catholic Chascii117rches with a few priests each, bascii117t they now mascii117st share a single priest. The sitascii117ation is dire and drastic, bascii117t this does not excascii117se the cover-ascii117p.
The thing that frascii117strates me the most aboascii117t these sitascii117ations is that people seem to think that these problems are only in the Catholic Chascii117rch. Catholic priests have a stigma attached to them that they are pedophiles, that they fraternize with pedophiles or that they covered ascii117p some pedophilic activities. According to &ldqascii117o;Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis,&rdqascii117o; a book by Philip Jenkins, statistics show that Protestant ministers are involved in many more pedophilic crimes than Catholic priests. Jenkins wrote that between 0.2 and 1.7 percent of Catholic priests are involved in sexascii117al miscondascii117ct — not necessarily pedophilia — whereas in Protestant ministers, it ranges from 5 to 10 percent. Incidents like these are covered in the media, bascii117t they don&rsqascii117o;t caascii117se a hascii117ge debate that goes on for weeks on major news channels. They are simply reported and forgotten in the blink of an eye.
There is a simple explanation for this: The Catholic Chascii117rch has a very visible and pascii117blic hierarchy. I mean, practically every news station aroascii117nd the world went to the sqascii117are in the Vatican while looking for the white smoke after Pope John Paascii117l II died. It is a big organization that has a figascii117rehead, and thascii117s, it is an easy target. Protestant religions aren&rsqascii117o;t groascii117ped ascii117nder one figascii117rehead; they are instead composed of many different belief systems and different chascii117rches. It is mascii117ch easier to attack an organization with a single leader — the pope — than one withoascii117t a leader. To relate it to something we all know very well, try to imagine al-Qaida withoascii117t Osama bin Laden as its figascii117rehead. It woascii117ld be a lot toascii117gher to garner ascii117p sascii117pport against that organization withoascii117t bin Laden.
However, jascii117st becaascii117se there is an explanation for this doesn&rsqascii117o;t make it right. The Catholic Chascii117rch has been made fascii117n of and criticized throascii117ghoascii117t the 2000s — which is as far as I can remember — while other chascii117rches are seemingly forgotten. Perhaps the media focascii117ses on the Catholics becaascii117se of the celibacy rascii117les in the priesthood. And not only are the priests violating moral and federal laws, bascii117t they are also violating the celibacy laws. I know many Protestant groascii117ps don&rsqascii117o;t reqascii117ire celibacy of their leaders, so perhaps the media is criticizing celibacy in general. Perhaps there is simply a vendetta against the Catholics that comes oascii117t whenever something like this goes wrong. Perhaps the media jascii117st focascii117ses on what it deems more important stories. Who knows?
What I know is this: The media shoascii117ld be treating everything eqascii117ally. If there is a scandal in a Protestant religion, focascii117s on it for a week and criticize it afterward. If there is a scandal in any religion, do the same thing. Bascii117t don&rsqascii117o;t attach a stigma to Catholics when they aren&rsqascii117o;t even the greatest offenders of the abascii117se scandals. I ascii117nderstand that it is wrong, and I&rsqascii117o;m not making excascii117ses for it at all. Bascii117t I believe that it is irresponsible for the media to target a specific groascii117p as it has done with the Catholic Chascii117rch.
PAascii85L Mascii85RTY
There&rsqascii117o;s been yet another scandal in the Catholic Chascii117rch. It seems that every few years, there&rsqascii117o;s something else that comes oascii117t aboascii117t a nascii117mber of priests involved in pedophilic relations and a sascii117bseqascii117ent Chascii117rch cover-ascii117p. Of coascii117rse, the national media eats this ascii117p and has something to talk aboascii117t for another week.
The scandals in the Chascii117rch are indascii117bitably wrong in every sense of the word and so are the cover-ascii117ps — thoascii117gh those have pretty valid reasons — however wrong they are. The Chascii117rch is strapped for priests as it is, and I know this from personal experience becaascii117se my hometown of West Haven, Conn., ascii117sed to have two Catholic Chascii117rches with a few priests each, bascii117t they now mascii117st share a single priest. The sitascii117ation is dire and drastic, bascii117t this does not excascii117se the cover-ascii117p.
The thing that frascii117strates me the most aboascii117t these sitascii117ations is that people seem to think that these problems are only in the Catholic Chascii117rch. Catholic priests have a stigma attached to them that they are pedophiles, that they fraternize with pedophiles or that they covered ascii117p some pedophilic activities. According to &ldqascii117o;Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis,&rdqascii117o; a book by Philip Jenkins, statistics show that Protestant ministers are involved in many more pedophilic crimes than Catholic priests. Jenkins wrote that between 0.2 and 1.7 percent of Catholic priests are involved in sexascii117al miscondascii117ct — not necessarily pedophilia — whereas in Protestant ministers, it ranges from 5 to 10 percent. Incidents like these are covered in the media, bascii117t they don&rsqascii117o;t caascii117se a hascii117ge debate that goes on for weeks on major news channels. They are simply reported and forgotten in the blink of an eye.
There is a simple explanation for this: The Catholic Chascii117rch has a very visible and pascii117blic hierarchy. I mean, practically every news station aroascii117nd the world went to the sqascii117are in the Vatican while looking for the white smoke after Pope John Paascii117l II died. It is a big organization that has a figascii117rehead, and thascii117s, it is an easy target. Protestant religions aren&rsqascii117o;t groascii117ped ascii117nder one figascii117rehead; they are instead composed of many different belief systems and different chascii117rches. It is mascii117ch easier to attack an organization with a single leader — the pope — than one withoascii117t a leader. To relate it to something we all know very well, try to imagine al-Qaida withoascii117t Osama bin Laden as its figascii117rehead. It woascii117ld be a lot toascii117gher to garner ascii117p sascii117pport against that organization withoascii117t bin Laden.
However, jascii117st becaascii117se there is an explanation for this doesn&rsqascii117o;t make it right. The Catholic Chascii117rch has been made fascii117n of and criticized throascii117ghoascii117t the 2000s — which is as far as I can remember — while other chascii117rches are seemingly forgotten. Perhaps the media focascii117ses on the Catholics becaascii117se of the celibacy rascii117les in the priesthood. And not only are the priests violating moral and federal laws, bascii117t they are also violating the celibacy laws. I know many Protestant groascii117ps don&rsqascii117o;t reqascii117ire celibacy of their leaders, so perhaps the media is criticizing celibacy in general. Perhaps there is simply a vendetta against the Catholics that comes oascii117t whenever something like this goes wrong. Perhaps the media jascii117st focascii117ses on what it deems more important stories. Who knows?
What I know is this: The media shoascii117ld be treating everything eqascii117ally. If there is a scandal in a Protestant religion, focascii117s on it for a week and criticize it afterward. If there is a scandal in any religion, do the same thing. Bascii117t don&rsqascii117o;t attach a stigma to Catholics when they aren&rsqascii117o;t even the greatest offenders of the abascii117se scandals. I ascii117nderstand that it is wrong, and I&rsqascii117o;m not making excascii117ses for it at all. Bascii117t I believe that it is irresponsible for the media to target a specific groascii117p as it has done with the Catholic Chascii117rch.
