Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
As you would expect, quite a few readers have sent emails requesting my opinion of that “60 Minutes” Easter piece the other night about the monks of Mt. Athos. Here’s one from Bob Koch that was delivered with a bit of wit:
A few weeks ago we looked at a public relations campaign — and how it was covered — by the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Miami. Now, private confession and absolution is a serious thing among certain religious adherents. My Lutheran pastor offered extra hours for confession during Lent and even more during Holy Week so we could avail ourselves of the opportunity. This is a regular part of worship life for many of us but is widely ignored by many mainstream media.
I bet an embarrassing number of us would find our Google searches reflect what we think about, our cares and concerns and our future plans. For instance, you might find variations of “royal wedding” and “Kate Middleton wedding dress” shamelessly appearing in my web history this week.
Something very sobering and terrible is sinking in for Western journalists who are covering the uprising in the Middle East. They are beginning to wonder if the outcomes of these revolutions will automatically be good or, at least, “good” as defined in terms of civil liberties and human rights as they are promoted at, let’s say, the United Nations.
The photographic image accompanying this post is not the work of Andres Serrano with which newspaper readers would almost certainly be familiar. However, I cannot seem to convince myself that I need to put a copy of that infamous work of modern religious or anti-religious art on this website on Good Friday. Sue me.
Even though I’m the mother of two young girls, I’m not worried about them getting caught up in the whole princess complex. My husband is some kind of anti-royalist so he keeps any princess talk in check. Last time the girls tried to dress up as princesses, my husband gave them a lecture on Constitutional governance.
Trust me. It is rare for your GetReligionistas to receive email from readers complimenting mainstream news stories about Catholic sex scandals. However, this Mercury News piece about the fall of Father Michael Manning — leader of the Wordnet television ministry — was hailed by several readers as exceptionally balanced and fair.
Last month, I highlighted media coverage of campaigns to get worshipers to confession. I needled the Miami Archdiocese a bit for using Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C Major to accompany their television advertisement. Johann Sebastian Bach is my favorite Lutheran composer, in a very crowded field. I was surprised that a couple of commenters didn’t know he was Lutheran, on account of how well regarded he is as a musician, composer and theologian.
I’m a sucker for stories about the liturgical calendar, so my eyes lit up when I saw the headline for Chris Moody’s piece at The Daily Caller:
