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So, let’s assume that you are a Catholic leader and you pick up your morning newspaper and it contains a story in which Pope Francis is described as “a leader” of the world’s Catholic Christians.
As I have mentioned many times, issues related to the world champion Baltimore Ravens (still enjoying typing those words) are about as close to serious religion news as my local newspaper gets, most of the time.
When the news broke about the election of the first Jesuit pope, several on-air commentators offered variations on the following line: “You know, I bet they are popping the corks on champagne bottles right now out at Georgetown University.”
You will be shocked, shocked, need I say SHOCKED to know that this week’s “Crossroads” podcast focuses on mainstream press coverage of the events before and after the election of Pope Francis as the new leader of of the world’s 1.2 billion (depending on how one does the counting) Catholics.
Let’s flash back, for a moment, to the early stages of the tsunami of papal conclave coverage. Readers will recall that I wondered — in light of existing New York Times guidelines on the use of anonymous sources — why the Gray Lady’s offerings in Rome were built almost entirely on anonymous sources.
Warning to readers: The following post is blatantly self-serving and includes flattering remarks about the work of your GetReligionistas.
As always, the gospel according to The New York Times — in an early version of its instant Pope Francis analysis — was spot on, with this headline: “Argentine Pope Will Make History, but Backs Vatican Line.”
All together now: Raise your hands if you wanted to throw something at the television screen the 666th time, or thereabouts, that CNN put up that graphic announcing that the newly named Pope Francis — formerly Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina — was the “first non-European pope.”
Does anyone remember why the powerful Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger selected the name Benedict XVI when he was elected pope?
