PressEthic

Let me start by saying, I don’t want to debate the politics of this story – at least, not here. I have strong opinions about it. Most people have strong opinions about it – even if the strong opinion is, “I really don’t care and think it’s stupid to be putting so much time into this.” I’m not here to write about the justice or practicality of the decision, nor am I here to discuss where the Church’s rights begin or end.

I just want to pick apart the story, particularly this doubly-loaded passage:

Although work on the document began years ago under Pope John Paul II, who died in April, its release will be a defining act in the young papacy of Benedict, a conservative who said last spring that there was a need to "purify" the church after the deeply damaging sex scandals of the last several years.

First of all, Pope Benedict XVI has had to deal with accusations concerning his Nazi ties. History has proven that he joined the seminary at the youngest age possible in order to avoid the Hitler Youth, and lived the rest of his life as a devout Catholic. I’ll accept that.

Then he goes and says getting homosexuals out of the seminaries will help “purify” the Church.

Let the record show, I haven’t seen the original document, I don’t speak German or Italian, and my Latin is rudimentary on a good day. So I don’t know how accurate the translation is. But assuming that the report is true, it’s either really foolish on his part or fairly malicious on the part of whomever is reporting this language (or possibly both). Purify the Church by getting rid of gays? No, that won’t remind anyone of your tenuous Nazi ties…

Now, the real kicker. The tendency to deal with homosexuals as a response to the damage the Catholic Church’s reputation has sustained after the sex scandals.

Sex scandals involving pedophiles. Not homosexuals.

WebMd tries to clear this up:

The biggest misunderstanding many people have is that pedophilia and homosexuality are one and the same. But to say that all homosexuals are pedophiles, or that all pedophiles are homosexual, is like comparing apples to rat poison. "They certainly are two distinct things," says James Hord, a psychologist in Panama City, Fla., who specializes in treating sexually abused children.

However, the Church seems to want to heal after the scandals involving pedophilia in the priesthood by getting rid of homosexual priests.

Now, the Times and its sources are taking something of a risk. Though nothing is explicit, connections can be made. I doubt I’m the only one who sees the Nazi connection in the Pope’s case, or the connection being made between homosexuality and pedophilia. I’m not sure how strong a case could be made, but I could hardly blame either party for feeling libeled. The Times is just reporting the facts, including the connections presumably made by others, but as we’ve discussed in class, a publication has to be careful when discussing libelous materials – transmitting libel is as bad as producing it.

(And if you want to discuss the politics of the Church’s situation, hit me up later and we’ll grab coffee or something.)