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If one looks up “reform” in a dictionary, it’s obvious that, when used as a label, this is a pretty good finger-pointing word, a term that separates the good guys from the bad guys. For example, when used as a verb:
Does anyone out there remember that recent post about that bizarre and very powerful narcotics gang down in Mexico that calls itself La Familia Michoacana? If that doesn’t ring a bell, you may remember the following memorable headline about this bunch in Time magazine: “Mexico’s Meth Warriors: Fueled by Evangelical zeal and America’s appetite for meth, a provincial Mexican gang breaks into the big time.”
As we look into other defenses of the New York Times attack on Pope Benedict XVI, I want to acknowledge at the outset that we’re getting a bit more into the weeds. In fact, some of these discussions might be more technical or murky than we normally encourage. I still think it’s important to have the discussion because the public record is important. But if you are a normal person, you might just want to skip to the next post!
In response to some of the outcry over the New York Times attack on Pope Benedict XVI, there have been a couple defenses worth discussing.
A few weeks ago, there was a bit of a discussion on the internets about whether the mainstream media does a good job of covering honor killings in America. It began with Phyllis Chesler writing:
Happy Independence Day! On Friday, we looked at the 4,000-word New York Times attack against Pope Benedict XVI. Much of the story was a good exploration of the complexity of Vatican canon law that contributed to difficulties in quickly resolving some of the sex abuse crisis. But much of it — including the first breathless paragraphs — was blatant editorializing against Benedict without substantiation. I came out strong against it because it was a deeply unfair piece that argued against where its own reporting led. I thought it would be interesting to review how the piece was being received in other quarters.
The New York Times has published yet another massive (4,000 words this time) hit piece on Pope Benedict XVI.
There was something that confused me about this Associated Press story “Pope to create new office to fight secularization.” It’s by no means an in-depth story — just a quick wire report on some business that came out of Vatican City this week. But check out this lede and supporting paragraphs:
I trust that anyone who has read GetReligion for any amount of time whatsoever has noticed that we are not fond of labels. Take, for example, “fundamentalist Islam” or “moderate Muslims.”
