We already looked at the major inaccuracies with mainstream media coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s comments on condoms. But there are a few other points that are worth sharing.
Vatican condomania: the day after
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A Vatican condom conversion?
“Well, that went well,” writes Amy Welborn, one of my favorite Catholic bloggers. She’s referring to the media maelstrom over “Light of the World,” Peter Seewald’s book-length interview with Pope Benedict XVI. Did you hear about it yesterday?
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The "bull in a china shop" is elevated
It’s been several weeks since Pope Benedict XVI named Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl, former archbishop of St. Louis Raymond Burke and 22 other Catholic leaders from around the world to join the elite College of Cardinals.
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First Amendment meets Fourth Amendment?
Last week I mentioned that I’d been the unlucky recipient of an intimate encounter with a TSA agent. As many more Americans have undergone the “how’s your father” with the agents, stories have been getting out about Americans wondering how much of this is security versus security theater. Here’s one mom’s story. Here’s Penn Jillette’s account.
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Abstinence in real life
I’m the first to pounce on stories making fun of people advocating abstinence before marriage. And there have been many examples of such stories over the years. So I had to highlight — and praise — this Washington Post article that looks at the nuptials of one couple that abstained from premarital relations.
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When stereotypes attack
A few years ago, Newsweek‘s Lisa Miller attempted to argue that the Bible didn’t really have much to say on marriage, except that it should include same-sex partnerships. In the first paragraph of the theologically illiterate and snark-infested piece, she asked “Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple–who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love–turn to the Bible as a how-to script?”
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Pod people: Faith language and death penalty
Last week I highlighted some of the coverage of the jury that deliberated the death penalty for convicted murderer Steven Hayes. Many media reports did a good job quoting the jurors and affected family members even when those quotes included religious language.
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Muslim extremist armies of one
The other day we looked at the excellent Washington Post profile of Zachary Chesser, the American Muslim who threatened violence against South Park creators for not depicting Muhammad. And now we have another intriguing profile of another American Muslim terrorist. This time the report is in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The paper received seven handwritten letters from Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, a Memphis native who shot two men outside an Army recruiting office, killing one. That man, Pvt. William A. Long, is pictured here.
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The radicalized and reckless Muslim convert
One of the oddities of the current conflict with Islamic radicalism is how one bit player can have such a big effect on things. Take Zachary Adam Chesser, a Northern Virginian convert who threatened the creators of “South Park” for, well, not portraying the Prophet Muhammad. This led to an attempt to defend First Amendment freedoms through the Everybody Draw Muhammad Day. And that led not just to Pakistan blocking access to Facebook for a while but also to the founder of the day having to go into hiding, and change her livelihood, name and identity.
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