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After saying Mass yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to Catholic educators from around the country. His speech was not easy to write about, as it was long on philosophy and theology. Still, reporters should have done more than treat his speech almost exclusively in terms of the culture wars.
Pope Benedict XVI held a private meeting yesterday with a small circle of victims of clergy abuse, which, following a surprisingly large number of references to the issue in sermons and speeches, steered the mainstream media coverage in a totally different direction here in Washington, D.C.
Religion reporters have had some time to reflect on the raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Texas.
Tmatt wrote about two storylines in the press so far about the pope’s visit. Daniel added a third. And in their spirit, I will add three more angles.
A good newspaper editorial page will be staffed by reporters with a drive toward breaking news. Most, it seems, just write bland, predictable opinion pieces in response to the news of the day. So I’m not opposed to seeing a columnist break some news on her beat. I think it can promote some healthy competition with the regular newswriters.
If you stop and think about the degree to which mainstream journalists view life through a political lens, then it is absolutely stunning that the feisty folks over at the Politico seem to have the following story to themselves — for a few hours.
As the click ticks down to papalmania, we have reached the point where it is impossible to follow all of the coverage, let alone offer some commentary on it. Perhaps, in the comments pages, we could start a list of the best blogs to watch during the next few days. Please pitch in.
One of the biggest stories in American Catholicism is the growth of the church through the southern migration of Hispanics. What that means for the Catholic Church in America is difficult to say at this point, but reporters should be able to get a few solid ideas with the pope’s visit to Washington, D.C., this week.
Regular GetReligion readers may recall that I am a native Texan, though I must confess of the “prodigal” variety. Still, I speak fluent Texan and my instincts about my native land are pretty good.
