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Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

The Conservative Pope and the Secular Media

By: Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

Over the past few months, the Catholic Church has found itself mired in controversy, plagued by an ever-growing sexual abuse scandal unfolding in Europe. The pope himself has come under substantial criticism, to such an extent that a leading German magazine titled a report, “The Failed Papacy of Benedict XVI.”

Yet the media’s growing chorus of criticism reveals as much about itself as it does about the mishaps of Pope Benedict XVI. It reveals much about how the media thinks about itself, and about the media’s worldview of what society ought to be like.

More below.

Historically, the Catholic Church and the Western media have always had moments of tension. The two are almost naturally at odds; their philosophical foundations constitute polar opposites. The church is fundamentally a conservative institution, hierarchy-bound and traditional. It embodies a force – religion – which often works in a conservative direction.

The modern Western media could not be more different from this. If liberalism were to be characterized, describing the media could do  the job well. The media sees itself as an agent of change, uncovering society’s injustices and working towards reform. Under this view, the world is consistently getting better, and media lies on the vanguard of the forces of progress. Religion, on the other hand, constitutes an obstacle standing in the path to a better world.

To many holders of this belief (i.e. the media), Pope Benedict XVI is moving the church backwards in the 21st century. Unlike his predecessor, Benedict XVI is not considered a hero, nor is he adept at media relations (or particularly photogenic, for that matter). Instead, Benedict XVI is an intellectual traditionalist who spent much of his career attacking liberal reformists in the church before becoming pope.

In many ways, therefore, the media’s negative coverage of the pope is not only due to the current sexual abuse scandal. Rather, it is a critique of everything the media dislikes about the pope – his conservative worldview, his reintroduction of the Tridentine Mass, his apathy towards dialogue with other religions, his lifting of Holocaust denier Richard Williamson’s excommunication, and his many writings condemning the forces of secularism which created the media.

This is not to defend Pope Benedict XVI nor to attack the  media. The church’s mishandling of the abuse scandal does indeed merit  substantial criticism; its response has been defensive and clumsy. There  is plenty of material to justify the media’s criticism; the cases of  sexual abuse appear quite outrageous. On the church’s side, the pope’s traditionalist views are genuinely felt while his critiques against moral relativism are often quite legitimate.

Rather, this is to look beneath the surface of the sexual abuse controversy. Its widespread negative coverage constitutes part of a deeper, long-standing conflict between a conservative church and a liberal media. It won’t be the last time the church and the media come into conflict.


15 comments

  1. IL JimP

    about the rest of the western world, but the US doesn’t have a liberal media.  It hasn’t for some time.  Secondly, isn’t it a little simplistic to say that the problem the pope has is an image problem?  The church has been slow to react to the growing sexual abuse problem that sprung up first in the US and now has spread to Europe.

    As a whole, most people probably don’t care how the church goes about their business as long as it doesn’t impact them or do something they feel is morally wrong, such as unexcommunicating a holocaust denier or not doing anything about a sexual abuse problem it has known about for decades.

    This has nothing to do with the “liberal media” which doesn’t exist, it has everything to do with members of the church breaking the law and then the church covers it up.

  2. Rashaverak

    The modern Western media could not be more different from this. If liberalism were to be characterized, describing the media could do  the job well. The media sees itself as an agent of change, uncovering society’s injustices and working towards reform.

    Does “the modern Western Media” include Fox News and other Murdoch-owned properties?

  3. and then blame such criticism on a liberal vs conservative conflict. That’s quite a claim. If someone’s actions are open to criticism, as you admit, why does there have to be an underlying motive for such criticism? Do I need an underlying motive to point out the failings of the popes who practiced incest, torture, political machinations, and murder? As an example, one of Benedict’s namesakes was one of the most corrupt. Pope Benedict IX was accused of sodomy and bestiality by none other than St. Peter Damian.  

  4. Rashaverak

    To many holders of this belief (i.e. the media[, that Religion constitutes an obstacle standing in the path to a better world]), Pope Benedict XVI is moving the church backwards in the 21st century. Unlike his predecessor, Benedict XVI is not considered a hero, nor is he adept at media relations (or particularly photogenic, for that matter). Instead, Benedict XVI is an intellectual traditionalist who spent much of his career attacking liberal reformists in the church before becoming pope.

    It is not merely those who believe that Religion constitutes an obstacle standing in the path to a better world]) who believe that Pope Benedict XVI is moving the church backwards in the 21st century.  A lot of Catholics do, also, including those liberal reformists in the church whom Benedict spent much of his career attacking liberal reformists in the church before becoming pope.  A lot of nuns in the United States feel under siege and have been called to account by means of an apostolic visitation.

    If you take a look at the web site of the National Catholic Reporter, http://ncronline.org/, you will find a lot of expressions of concern about the direction in which Benedict is trying to take the Church.  I think it is safe to say that most of the contributors to and readers of the National Catholic Reporter do not believe that Religion constitutes an obstacle standing in the path to a better world.  It is fair to characterize the National Catholic Reporter as a media outlet, but it is not exactly a secular one, and most of its readers are probably not part of the media, but rather are simply Catholics concerned about the state of the RCC.

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