This is the sort of shallow, asinine, perhaps even mendacious BS we all knew would crop up in the mainstream media.
NOTA BENE: This headline is a LIE.
Note also that the URL for the story indicates something quite different.
UPDATE 2258 GMT:
I wrote note to someone who is impossible to ignore in the Fox News organization.
I am sure many other people wrote notes as well.
And I have also been engaging an AP writer behind the story.
I noticed on the Fox News site that the headline has been revised.
UPDATE 23:10 GMT:
Okay, I have more information. I have been in touch with the person who wrote the AP article.
For some reason some idiot editor at AP (my choice of words, not writer’s) took the writer’s name off the byline and, stupidly, imposed that gawdawful original headline.
But we have seen in the past how very badly AP has treated the Church, haven’t we.
At best that bad headline was an unprofessional mistake based on the inability to understand what is written in black and white. A more realistic scenario is that it was a purposeful distortion of the facts.
Meanwhile, this is from the CBC:
And…
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We should all email them and refute the article.
Charity in ALL things!
newsmanager@foxnews.com
And please patron saints of journalists -Pray for us and most especially for our dear Holy Father!
•Francis de Sales
•Maximillian Kolbe
•Paul the Apostle
http://saints.sqpn.com/patrons-of-journalists/
Well, we understand what they mean: that the statement was clarified to not just apply to male prostitutes, but to even heterosexual fornicators, etc. To “everyone” rather than a restricted group.
Still, the “can” is the misleading part. The Pope never said anyone CAN do it. There is no morally correct situation where a condom would be needed. He merely said contraception is the lesser evil compared to the risks of unprotected sex. But that’s not a “seismic shift”…it’s just common sense.
The Pope didn’t even say that contraception is a lesser evil. He said that using a condom MIGHT display a sign of a step in the right direction in terms of a person’s intentions. That is, it might show that they are starting to think of the other rather than self when examining sexuality. Their action will still be sinful, but perhaps their intention will be better.
MSFOX
Nice that they quoted a Jesuit who only added fuel to the this fire of deception.
I know there are some good Jesuits out there but the Holy Father really does need to put these guys on a very short leash. The good one won’t mind and the bad one are the ones who need it.
The headline is certainly untrue. But is it a lie? That is to say, is it a deliberate attempt to deceive? I suggest that there is (sadly) the possibility that the editors and writers simply do not have the language and thinking skills necessary to parse the pope’s nuanced comments successfully. Don’t laugh. I have seen teachers, journalists, and white collar managers who simply lack basic language skills.
The liberal anti-Catholic media is forgetting one thing–all sexual relations outside of marriage are sinful. EVEN IF Fox’s headline were true (which of course it is not; it is blatently false) then NO ONE could use a condom without committing a mortal sin. That is, if one is married and uses a condom then one would commit the mortal sin of contraception. If one is unmarried or has sexual relations with someone who is not their spouse and uses a condom they would (even if the headling were true) commit the mortal sin of fornication/sodomy/adultery/etc.
This the media does not grasp and probably never will. They think that by the pope “approving condoms” (which, of course, he did not) that people now have licence to do whatever sexual activities they want. Wake up media!!! They make me sick…
I agree with Kap–let’s flood FOX’s inbox with charitable e-mails.
As for the Holy Father’s comments, I agree 100% with everett. He said nothing about “lesser of two evils.” That’s just an attempt by the media fool people into thinking they know something about theology. Give me a break.
They’ve changed the headline. It now reads, “Vatican shifts ground on condoms, HIV, conception.”
It’s still a lie, but now it’s a more subtle lie.
Take a deep breath everyone…the headline is from the Asociated Press, not Fox if I read the byline correctly.
[I think the headline is from Fox. People, get to work. Drill into this. Nevertheless, the headline is obviously false. They are still responsible for posting that falsehood.]
That’s why they call it Faux News.
Let’s start a rumor that a class action suite has been initiated against the network on behalf of ugly women denied employment there.
Another one:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/the-pope/8154992/Women-and-men-can-use-condoms-to-protect-themselves-from-Aids-Vatican-says.html
“Women as well as men can use condoms to protect themselves against diseases such as Aids, the Vatican has confirmed at the launch of a new book about the Pope. “
Damian Thompson asinine?
I actually think that Damian hits this one out of the park. As does Elizabeth Scalia.
Okay… here is a problem. There is an article on the site of the Daily Telegraph and you assume that it is by Damian Thompson.
It was by Nick Squires.
READ, people! Do actually READ! Pay ATTENTION!
The headline has been altered – not really much improvement – “Vatican shifts ground on condoms, HIV, conception”
But Fox News is deliberately set up for people who have no desire to read, Fr. Zed. It’s bad when the “news” organization that spreads lies that one agrees with suddenly spreads one that one does NOT agree with. Fox “News” is the Propaganda arm of the “Conservative” Movement and the modern day Republican party. What to do now??
http://sthughofcluny.org/2010/11/the-pope-condoms-and-traditionalism.html
Earlier the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s website simply had a link to the story that said: “Vatican: Everyone can use condoms.” I just about choked on my lunch as I read it.
It’s not just on the Web site. The news crawl on the cable channel currently includes the following (italics mine): The Vatican says using a condom is a lesser evil than transmitting HIV to a sexual partner, even if that means a woman averting a possible pregnancy… Comment signals a seismic shift away from the Roman Catholic Church’s long-held, anti-birth control stance… The Vatican has long been criticized for it’s opposition to condom use, particularly in Africa where AIDS is rampant… Vatican says the view pertains to heterosexual as well as homosexual men, clarifying Pope Benedict XVI’s earlier remark.
This is really just typical for ALL of the news media. Given the choice between reporting a straight news story and falsely spinning it into something sensationalistic, they will all resort to headline grabbing.
http://lightoftheworldbook.blogspot.com/2010/11/light-of-world-and-mainstream-media.html
Interview with Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press publisher of Light of the World and MSM representative shows the Ginger factor in action. One has to wonder though how much of the ignorance is genuine and how much is assumed.
Someone from the comment boxes said:
I suggest that there is (sadly) the possibility that the editors and writers simply do not have the language and thinking skills necessary to parse the pope’s nuanced comments.
Good summary, as usual, by Jimmy Akin
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/new-developments-on-the-pope-and-condoms/
Exhibit 47 that the Holy Spirit makes you infallible, but that he does not make you smart, articulate, or ensure that the news media understand the way the magisterium works.
But ya’ll Fox News Channel has been running it on the news scroll all evening! It made me sick and my husband is quite disturbed by it….I can’t even begin to tell you how angry it has made him. He is a convert and works quite hard at assisting his Baptist/Protest. brothers and sisters. They of course, have run with this ONE! I wish that we could get a ‘heads-up’ some times before this stuff starts moving….it’s hard to hit the ground running when the ‘wave’ of lies hits you right in the face. I’m trying not to whine…its just difficult in the south-the Bible Belt. Blessed Cardinal Henry Newman pray for us!
Trust in God! I will praise Him still! My saviour and my God!
CNN, MSNBC, FOXNEWS, and the rest are not on the side of the Church. The only thing that the media is for is to sell cars and viagra.
At best that bad headline was an unprofessional mistake based on the inability to understand what is written in black and white. A more realistic scenario is that it was a purposeful distortion of the facts.
Knowing the AP, it’s all but certain that the editor put the unmistakeably false headline on the story intentionally.
But then the secular media are only doing what anybody could have predicted they would do. They will answer for their sins. But the Holy Father bears responsibility as well. This is a disaster. It would have been better if he’d said nothing than for him to have said what he did, even though what he said isn’t false.
Add this to the 501 reasons why this should never have been publicized, because it is imprudent. Even if the remark was correct (and I have a hard time seeing it from the basis of Thomistic moral theology) as soon as it was said it was going to be canon fodder for the media.
How can they possibly read “women” or “contraception” into the Pope’s statement?? His example has NOTHING to do with contraception, or women! It’s about an already sterile act between two men already engaged in heinous sin.
I guess the formula works like this: The pope talks about specifically, only, male prostitutes = regular women can use it too! The pope talks about using condoms to prevent disease transfer in an act that cannot possibly lead to children no matter what, so there’s no contraception taking place = you can use condoms for contraception as long as you’re also using it to prevent disease transfer!
They’re so *desperate* to find a way to vindicate their sin that they’re making things up wholecloth. It’s disgusting.
Thank you, Fr Z, for your exhortations to read. I wasn’t assuming that that article was by Damian Thompson. There was a dog that wasn’t barking: the fact that no one had flagged up this: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100064572/conservative-catholics-blame-media-for-condoms-story-but-are-they-secretly-cross-with-the-pope/
lhwhitaker says:
But Fox News is deliberately set up for people who have no desire to read, Fr. Zed.
That can be said about all TV news.
It’s bad when the “news” organization that spreads lies that one agrees with suddenly spreads one that one does NOT agree with. Fox “News” is the Propaganda arm of the “Conservative” Movement and the modern day Republican party. What to do now??
The only option is turning on the TV news that is the propaganda arm of the Liberal movement and modern day Democratic Party. The advantage is that there are a variety of choices: CBS, CNN, MSNBC, or McNeil (less)-Lehrer.