Pope’s resignation opens door to media mythology

I don’t think any serious Roman Catholic expected anything other than a concerted attack and smear campaign when Pope Benedict announced his resignation. And, exactly as we predicted, instead of using the opportunity to look back intelligently and objectively on a fascinating and courageous papacy, mainstream media lied, smeared and libelled the Pope and his followers, all the while pretending to really care, really know and really report.

It was extremely painful to watch. I appeared on numerous TV and radio stations, and Fr. Thomas Rosica and Cardinal Thomas Collins in particular performed wonderfully and heroically. But these were small islands in what was generally a sea of distortion.

One of the most common and absurd media myths heard in the days following Feb. 11 was that “the Church is at a crossroads.” No it’s not. It’s merely continuing what it has done for 2,000 years, and in that time no pope has contradicted any other, none have taught heresy, and unlike every other ancient institution this one still exists.

This mythical crossroads, of course, is mere code for TV hosts and editorial writers demanding Roman Catholicism transform its teaching, and always on the same subjects: homosexuality, abortion and contraception. In other words, the issues that concern Western liberals who, yes, host TV shows and write editorials.

Sorry guys, but your obsession with same-sex weddings and aborting babies is not at the heart of the Church, the vast majority of whose members live not in Manhattan, Toronto and London but in Latin America, Africa and Asia. These people face hunger, slaughter, persecution and poverty. They love the Church for being one of the few entities that speaks for the needy and the suffering.

The narcissism of the Western elites is staggering. Their culture is dying, their societies drown in pornography, prostitution, decadence, depression, self-indulgence and self-worship, and they sit back and condemn a Pope and a Vatican for not changing to accommodate their values and immorality. They fiddle while Rome prospers, they fiddle while their nations burn.

As soon as the Pope announced this supreme, pristine act of humility we listened to myriad talking heads explaining that people didn’t go to church any more. Actually what this means is that you guys don’t go to church any more. The numbers in the developing world are enormous, and the Church can barely build schools, seminaries and places of worship fast enough to keep pace. The congregants there do not obsess about the tawdry fetishes of wealthy westerners.

Then we had the nonsense about Pope Benedict not dealing with the abuse crisis. This is a libel screaming out for reaction. The abuse crisis is not what we are generally told. The typical abuser was a homosexual man also having sex with other adult men, and the typical victim was a 14-year-old boy. This is not in any way to suggest that all gay men behave thus, but can we please speak the truth about this monstrosity.

When the Pope spoke of cleaning “the filth” out of the Church he angered some very powerful people in some very powerful positions, which partly accounts for the hatred of him. He did more than anyone to put matters right, and for that was eviscerated. By the way, abuse rates in public education or organized youth sport are routinely twice and more as high as within the Church. We have to condemn and expose abuse, but we have to condemn and expose all abuse.

The essence of all this is that the chattering classes want the Catholic Church to be less Catholic, the Pope to be less papal, Christianity to be less Christ-like. I’m afraid it doesn’t quite work that way, and while nobody has to be a Roman Catholic, nobody has the right to demand Roman Catholics think and believe like Unitarians. The Church is not going to surrender to the culture, and the next pope will continue to guard Christendom and Christians.

Thank you Pope Benedict for all that you have done for the Church and for humanity, and God bless you in your retirement. Now there’s a statement you won’t hear from a CBC anchor.
 

(Coren’s latest book is Heresy: Ten Lies They Spread About Christianity. His web site is www. michaelcoren.com.)