While running errands today I heard an “oldie” from Don Henley, which included the lyrics (pretty close, I think):
We’ve got the bubble-headed bleach-blonde who comes on at five
she can tell you ’bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye.
It’s interesting when people die.
Give us dirty laundry.
Dog on the freeway!
The latest kidnapping!
Teacher seduces 15 year-old student!
SUV chase in LA!
If it bleeds, it leads! If is screws, it’s news!
Granted a big plane crash is a bigger deal than a dog on the freeway, but – sheesh – 24/7 wall to wall? Really?
I want more public policy and international news coverage.
I am pretty annoyed with US news, both MSM broadcast and cable. They beat certain stories incessantly and leave what is going on in the rest of the world on the shelf.
Where do we have to go for news? Al Jazeera? CCTV?
I can stand a few minutes at a time now. Now I DVR certain programs so that I can cut out commercials – don’t get me started on them! – and bypass idiot stories.
And let’s not let give Catholic media a pass. The Pope is worried about what cars religious drive? REALLY? Liberals are all aflutter. You might not know this but he traded down from his new VW Phaeton (ka-ching) to a 10 year-old Ford Focus. Yes, indeed. He has also diminished his escort. Let’s think: a Pope in an old Ford Focus in Roman traffic with a small escort: What could go wrong?
I think spending a little more on a car and escort that would keep him alive between point A and B would cost a hell of a lot less than another conclave. Just’ thinkin’ out loud.
And does L’Osservatore Romano really have to delve into the question of whether The Hulk is Catholic? “Is the Hulk Catholic?” (Yes, by the way).
I need a new desk. There is a growing dent from my forehead right smack-dab in the center.
UPDATE
Because someone brought it up in the combos (where people are having a little fun because real Catholics have a sense of humor…):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsUCRcK7QYc&feature=player_embedded
And then there’s the Cap’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSnHM3rn1jc&feature=player_embedded
Look.
The world is essentially divided into two types of people: DC types and Marvel types.
Lines like that could lead a guy to become a Marvel type.
On the other hand, Superman went to a priest, didn’t he.
What a dilemma.
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I think in order to get the real news, you have to wait until the year is over and then read the highlights. Most everything else is fluff.
“Puny god.” [Great. Movie. Moment! And there was a Christian reference in the same movie!]
Of course, the Gosnell story bled more than most but yet never led.
Father –
Just to clarify: the news story I read about the Pope using a Ford Focus implied, at least to me, that it was what he used within the Vatican and not necessarily out and about in Rome itself.
Your friend, Father Blake, had an interesting tid bit in his blog today, ” The Pope and his assistants sit whilst Holy Communion is distributed by priest and deacons and large number of Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. The music is truly excruciating, in a way that only Italian clergy, with a gang of youth can make it.” This should be news since the Celebrant at Mass should be giving Holy Communion before any Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are used. Sometimes I get confused by Church Authority!
Two points: one, a Focus can drive on the sidewalks of Rome and veer off in front of pedestrians faster than anything but a Mini-he should have bought a Mini with the Vatican flag on it.
Second point, I was shocked today to see a poll which noted that the majority of Americans get their news from the television. OH no! Russian television is good, as is France24, but the BBC sold out to the liberals and radical politically correct gurus long ago. Al-Jezeera has been shut done, and I rely on the off-news groups, like Newsmax, the Blaze, Politico, JihadWatch, FT, WSJ, and a whole bunch of independent writers. La Stampa is sometimes correct but politically leftist, as is Ansa, but I volley and punch until I find the real deals. The Keiser Report on RT is amusing and mostly good, not all.
Ha-ha-ha
Great rant, Father – thanks. It made me laugh!
That 10 year old Ford Focus probably costs more in the long run than a VW Phaeton. I was given one as a rental while my car was being repaired. That thing ate gas like growing boys scarf down food (my cousins’ Explorer uses more fuel than their HD Dodge Ram, yet it’s less than half the size). Then there’s fixing or repairing it daily, as is common with Fords. Now that I think about it, this isn’t good for social justice. Think of the impact this old Ford Focus will have on the environment between using up the earth’s non-renewable petroleum resources, and the emissions it will give off. No, not good for social justice at all.
what cool catholic said.
Kick’em when their up
Kick’em when they’re down
Kick’em in their shins
Kick’em all around
Two people were killed in that plane crash, twelve were shot to death in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend, and fifty-one were killed by the Egyptian army in Cairo yesterday. Pray for all of their souls, and I am going to pray extra hard for the Holy Father now that I know that he is rolling around in Rome in a 10 year old Ford Focus! Geesh! Why didn’t he just go all the way and get one of those mini Fiats that you can back into a parallel parking spot? [Even better: a Segway?]
Your “rant” has sent me on a “rant.”
I had understood that Pope Francis purchased the pueblo’s car (limo model Phaeton) so he could put the Mercedez Benz limo into the garage. Why? His Holiness feared that what the M-B symbolizes to the poor and marginalized of society would discredit his message of humility and solidarity with the poor and marginalized.
Okay. I get that.
So, I checked out the price of the pueblo-mobile-limo. A stripped-down Phaeton, without the bullet-proof glass and protective armor runs about $70k.
That led me to wonder whether His Holiness may have put symbolism over substance.
Now you’re telling me that he’s bought another car, a stripped-down Ford Focus without the necessary protective materials, running about $18k? [No no no… and 10 year old Focus!]
I know the Vatican ran a surplus last year, but how is it that the heart of His Holiness is “hurt” when he sees priests and religious driving around in spiffy, new cars?
I don’t think priests and religious should drive around in spiffy, new cars. But, tell me, Fr. Z: What am I getting wrong?
[Priests should spend money wisely and buy cars that are SAFE (because priests are precious, rare commodities), and will retain their value, and will get them where they need to go with good efficiency. They should not drive something that is far out of reach of their parishioners, of course. And the priest’s age also makes a difference. That doesn’t mean that they have to drive junk. And I STILL want that Veyron!]
I thought the part about the Ford Focus was a joke. I was wrong. Ugh. There’s humility and then there’s militant humility. Let’s steer clear of the latter.
By militant humility, Robbie, might you mean ostentatious humility?
The Gallup poll about news sources:
TV Is Americans’ Main Source of News.
Let’s see: the Fiat Sedia: carbon emissions, zero. Horse (ooops) manpower: 8. Visibility: total. Bullet-proof glass: easily arranged but not a good idea really. What’s not to like? Humility factor: umm, yeah, right. :(
“I think spending a little more on a car and escort that would keep him alive between point A and B would cost a hell of a lot less than another conclave.”
I think I remember that the Social Justice crowd complained when Pope JPII had a pool put in [at Castel Gandolfo?]for personal fitness. Wasn’t he quoted as saying it would be “cheaper than a conclave”? I always secretly cheered him for that…
Why is it when we speak of ‘the Poor’ the default is material poverty? Why aren’t we speaking and acting on spiritual poverty?
It seems to me spiritual poverty is the biggest obstacle in the first world and one of the biggest obstacles in the New Evangelization.
I find it ironic for all the talk of ‘the Poor’, I have found considerable spiritual wealth among the [material] poor.
Where should our ‘Focus’ [pardon the pun] be, given the dire need for evangelization?
RT (Russia Today) has a LOT more news than almost any American news channel, cable or otherwise. There is a slant, but it is very easy to find. The upside? You get REAL news and video from places OTHER than the US. You also get a view of US policy from a foreign source. You will be surprised how many additional things that are reported on regarding US policy that domestic news channels never report.
As to the choice of car. I have always been of the mind that if it is not broken, don’t fix it. If the Vatican already owns vehicles for the Pope, why buy more? The man should fill the office and not the other way around. The office of the Pope SHOULD necessarily have some pomp and regality to it. He is the vicar of Christ. Christ rose in Glory from the dead to grant us all a place to heaven. We want the office of the Pope to at least reflect some of that regality.
The works of art and pomp are all given to the Church as part of the laities way of expressing their love for Christ’s Church. I wish this gift was not looked down on.
I am SO HAPPY I dropped cable – I get my news from around the Internet or from international news agencies that I can get from using Roku. I visited my parents this past weekend and my dad sometimes lives on cable news – after three or four hours of the same two or three stories, enough is enough! Sheesh!
With all of the talk about the car, and humility and the “Poor Church”…it made me wonder if Pope Francis was a bit uncomfortable with the money that must have been spent to create the newly unveiled statue in the Vatican Gardens. No doubt that he appreciated the idea of putting the Vatican under the protection of St. Michael…but the statue? I wonder.
Perhaps that’s why he insisted that Papa Emerito join him on Friday, as if to say, “Hey…this wasn’t MY idea…blame him!”
Somehow, there is a correlation between what the Pope says and John 12, verses 1 to 8. Not sure what he is saying is in accord with this chapter and verses or not?
For news channels, they’re all a tradeoff: If you’re tired of hearing about Trayvon Martin and other American news obsessions and want some world news, I would recommend France 24, whose English-language broadcasts are available online and increasingly on basic cable. You have to sit through the occasional bit on European sports or (even worse) fashion, but the coverage of world events is much broader and less sensational.
RT, a.k.a Russia Today, also streams online, but the bias is far more obvious, and you can tell in short order that it’s from The Folks Who Brought You Pravda. They’re good for live reporting on events like the current situation in Egypt.
Al Jazeera obviously has a lot of resources in the Mideast and Asia, though with some predictable biases — not quite so strident as RT, though.
I won’t watch CCTV unless I’m actively looking for bias, censorship, or “official” versions of events.
Henry Edwards
I suppose the best way I would describe militant humilty is a person who says, “Look at me. I’m so humble.”
Ford = Fix Or Repair Daily. For those who didn’t pick up on that before….
Couple thoughts.
When the parishioners see that the Father has a new car while they have to make do with their own – there’s always that feeling, right or wrong, that their money is best used on the needs of their family. There’s a lot of folks out there hurting and making do on very little these days. Francis understands this clearly which is why he’s doing this. As for the economy of driving a focus – it does mean that the car that *is* there doesn’t get the wear on tear. If I were Francis I’d be doing the same thing, not because I want to look down on other folks, but because I’d really rather run down the old Focus and use it up rather than damage the brand new car. But that’s just me. It is difficult for people to transition to a life where they wish to deny themselves to where they are a Pope – where the spotlight is on them, and there are a whole host of things that need to be considered.
A few weeks ago, Father Zuhlsdorf wondered aloud if the Pope’s decision not to attend a concert at the Vatican was evidence of the continued deconstruction of the Papal person. I wonder if that applies to this case as well? Some will say it doesn’t matter what type of car he uses on Vatican grounds (and functionally they’re right), but he is using the car as a way to send a message about his views on wealth. Given that, is it a stretch to wonder whether this move, along with others, is meant to show, in general, how he wants the position he holds to be defined going forward?
I suppose the best comparison I can make is with the British royal family. Leaving aside whether you like any of them or not, when the Queen does something, she does it high style and many around the world simply love it. As many as two billion people watched William and Kate’s wedding two years ago. But would the British citizens turn out for royal events if the Queen was simply “one of them” and rode around London in an old jalopy and wore jeans and sweater? [On the other hand, I think it was great that she rode the train to Sandringham… at least once.] By the same token, will Catholics, and many others for that matter, continue to see a Pope in the same way if he just becomes another priest who happens to live on the Vatican grounds?
Robbie says:”By the same token, will Catholics, and many others for that matter, continue to see a Pope in the same way if he just becomes another priest who happens to live on the Vatican grounds?”
In a word, YES.
The pope is not a figurehead. He is the head of the one True Church. He is the successor of Peter, the Rock upon which the Church is built…I could go on but I think you get where I’m going. Do I hope His Holiness Pope Francis will sacrafice in humility as other Popes have and wear the royal garb? Yep, but where he to dress in rags and walk around barefoot he would still be the Supreme Pontiff. To Catholics that’s what matters
Sorry, hit post too fast. We haven’t had cable since 2005 and I don’tiss it anymore. I get my news from ChurchMilitanTV or here. The MSM,IMHO, is so skewed to the left that really it can not be called reporting. It’s more like scary story time for liberal adults. Waste of time. I’m going to have to account for every last second I waste. I’m already in enough trouble.
Indulgentiam
I don’t think you’re wrong, but I do wonder if the deconstruction of the Papal person necessarily helps the way it’s intended to help.
I agree with Robbie! There is a fine line between humility and pride! I am beyond disappointment! This coupled with our progressive pastor has been a challenge for me. I have had to shed my Pollyanna ideas about the magisterium of the Church. I know there is a lesson in this somewhere. I just haven’t figured out what it is yet! Help me Father Z!
I recall a speech (allegedly a sermon) in which a priest who favored glass chalices informed his congregation about the alleged evils of Mercedes-Benz. He was apparently unaware of the fact that Mercedes-Benz had a habit of inventing safety innovations, patenting said innovations, and then not enforcing the patents, so people who could afford its products could have a better chance of survival in its competitor’s products.
For the record, I take the bus.
That should be “people who could not afford its products”.
I love the rant Father Z. That is exactly what I have been thinking about the media.
I wholeheartedly agree that what passes for journalism in this country’s major media
is deeply compromised and biased for this administration. It’s as though they’ve decided
to abandon the idea of being a loyal opposition and watchdog, opting instead to be the
Democrat’s unofficial audio-visual department.
I would point out that with cable’s packaging, network news has become largely uncoupled
from ratings. Networks like MSNBC still get their cut of the cable pie even though their
ratings are consistently in the basement. Now, if cable companies allowed subscribers to
order a la carte where their TV dollars go, you’d probably see fewer news networks
like the unwatched MSNBC and more like the vastly more popular FOX. But, until the free
market is actually at work in the media, that’s not happening…
As for the sub-thread re: “militant humility”, I can only think of Charles Dickens’ awful
character Uriah Heep, who was always insisted he was “so very, very ‘umble”. Brrrrrr.
A SoCal day with an SUV high-speed chase on an LA freeway? Yawn. We call those things “weekdays.”
Ben nailed it.
Lin, so you are saying the Pope is being prideful?
“The world is essentially divided into two types of people: DC types and Marvel types.
Lines like that could lead a guy to become a Marvel type.
On the other hand, Superman went to a priest, didn’t he.”
Hmmm…The movies are non-canonical. Superman going to a priest? In what movie (I haven’t seen the most recent one). There was a recent book on the movie-izing of Superman that raked Warner Brothers over the coals. The movie-makers really don’t, “get,” Superman. The only person who does is Bruce Timm, the Emmy Award winning producer of the Batman, The Animated Series, Superman, Justice League, etc. He knows the Superman mythos. There are rumors that he is going to give input on the Justice League movie.
Dare Devil goes to confession quite often (although he rarely finishes before he has to go deal with some bad guy). The Hulk is not Catholic – Bruce Banner is (it is an open ontological question if the Hulk is a different creature than Banner – probably, not).
Yes, Josh Wedon (sorry for the spelling) put those lines into the Avenger’s movie, because they seemed in character. He is an atheist.
Simply put, most of these comic characters have their roots in the Jewish imagination. The ending, -el for the Superman family is a reference to this. Both Simon and Shuster were Jewish, as well as Jack Kirby, who created Captain America (or was one of his early developers). Stan Lee is a WASP.
There have been very few Catholics in the comic industry (perhaps, Bill Finger, one of the early writers of Batman). Most of the religious characters are stock characters. The cesspool of modern comics (anything after the Silver Age is worthless) will simply not allow for a realistic exploration of religion (oh, but they do a dandy job with the occult).
Essentially, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, etc. are WASPS. No praying from them.
The Chicken
I agree on the quality of news in the US. Most stations have nothing but fluff. I don’t care if yet another idiot tried to lead police on a chase at double the speed limit. I don’t care to hear about another bike path in the city when the roads are not being repaired. Now, one of the stations is putting up daily pictures of a person dressed for the weather along with the weather report because I guess we are too stupid to figure out how to dress ourselves.
I regularly read alternative news sites – some are very strange – but one of these sites has at times reported news before anyone else. It’s the first place I heard about id chip implants for humans when mainstream media didn’t mention it for at least 3 years. Alternative news is also where I read that the banks were in trouble – this also was several years before the big bank problems came to a head in 2007. I have also read Al-Jazeera and I think their news reporting is actually pretty good.
If you dont want to be caught off guard keep it simple:
1) Drudge
2)The Blaze
3)Pewsitter
4)Culture Wars
5)New Advent
that simple and you are always ahead of the game
+JMJ+
I’m sorry Father but I just made the mental image of Pope Francis on a Segway and can’t stop laughing
To be honest, I drive a ’96 Jeep. To be honest, it’s not because I’m humble, it gets me from point A to point B safely, and I know where the windshield wipers and headlights are. My mom bought a newer vehicle a couple of years ago. She had to stop at the dealership to “fix” her windshield wipers-she didn’t know how to turn them on. I’ve been in brand new cars, and to be honest, the technology is intimidating. I do like the comments regarding the news, I’ve been calling the MSM Fluffy, the news, for some time.
In addition to joboww’s list I would add RealClearPolitics which has links to interesting articles on both sides of the political spectrum. I would also add NRO (National Review Online).
I have always been bothered by how insular we are in the US. When I am driving I occasionally will put on the BBC on my XM radio, admittedly the BBC has sold out to the liberal mainstream, but they at least still have an international outlook. I hear stories there that are never covered here in the US. Plus Test Cricket coverage :)
JonPatrick at #40,
The two sweetest words that make all right with the world…
TEST CRICKET!!!!!!!
to the Australian and British readers who comment here, who will win the Ashes??
And
Is there a patron saint of Cricket??
or
Even simply excellent cricketters who are Catholic??
No appologies for creating this rabbit hole, as there is no rabbit-proof fence to prevent such fantastic subversion…:-)
Now, my fellow Australians,
Repeat after me…Aussie Aussie Aussie…Oiy, Oiy, Oiy!!!!!!
Blessings,
Aussie Maronite.
RafkasRoad: this calls for a quote from Hercule Poirot: “Cricket. The English enigma. I know not of any other game where even the players are unsure of the rules.”(http://quotationsbook.com/quote/56864/#sthash.cJesIuj7.dpuf )
Though Poirot was wrong, of course – the media game is the other one where the participants are equally clueless (and less gentlemanly).
Lin says:
I have had to shed my Pollyanna ideas about the magisterium of the Church.
What does the Pope’s choice of car have to do with the magisterium of the Church?
My wife and I were big fans of NPR (Radio Havana on the Potomac) until we became parents; “Morning Sedition” and “Some Things Considered” were ‘must hears’ every day. It was around the birth of our first child that we began to realize that NPR appeals directly to the sin of Pride…”We’re soooo smart- we listen to NPR!”
We get our national news these days from Father Z and our local news from the village weekly.
Cricket is a rabbit hole here, but maybe Fr. Z could open up another discussion on this great sport.
“The Pope is worried about what cars religious drive?”
I think he is worried about giving scandal, and about the positive witness of evangelical ‘poverty’ / the virtue of simplicity. This is Pope Francis – inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, of course, who saw the value in the witness of poverty.
Priests especially (and religious) offer a very public witness simply by virtue of their state in life. If others see Father BMW, even if it may be unreasonable for them to judge him as they have no idea why he is driving it, they may be tempted to doubt God’s care for the poor, or those struggling to make ends meet. I doubt there is a shortage of people who have been scandalized by the Father BMW’s of the world when they are struggling to pay their kids’ Catholic school tuition.
Perhaps he also is worried about how the fixation with modern technology (the latest smartphone, the cool new car) can become an idol, a distraction from focusing on God, who should be the joy of our lives.
I doubt that the Pope is aiming for economic efficiency in itself, nor overly concerned with his own safety, though I imagine he is not trying to be wasteful or imprudent either.
Masked Chicken, the scene with Superman going to a priest occurs in the most recent movie, but it is based on book which is, I think still part of DC continuity: Superman:For Tomorrow. There, the priest is called Father Leone and is identified as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Metropolis.
Nightcrawler was traditionally a Catholic character, until one of Marvel’s hatchetmen couldn’t stand the awesomeness of him and messed up a tradition 30 years old. Sigh. I miss the dapper, swashbuckling, humble, wryly lovelorn, bamf-ariffic Catholic version of Nightcrawler.
St. Alphonsa Muttathupadathu is apparently the new go-to saint for cricket, or at least the West Indian variety. Her nickname is Alphonsamma, which is a bit shorter to say.
Another cricket fan’s page notes that St. Paraskeva is the patron saint of spinners, so he takes it more than one way. :)
St. Sebastian is good for athletes in general, and St. Christopher too.
Superman visiting a priest does not make him Catholic, of course. It is a prosaic version of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, where a pagan wracked with guilt approaches a priest for absolution. Bruce Timm quoted the ending in the Justice League Unlimited episode, To Another Shore:
And now, all in my own countree,
I stood on the firm land!
The Hermit stepped forth from the boat,
And scarcely he could stand.
‘O shrieve me, shrieve me, holy man!’
The Hermit crossed his brow.
‘Say quick,’ quoth he, ‘I bid thee say—
What manner of man art thou?’
Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched
With a woful agony,
Which forced me to begin my tale;
And then it left me free.
Since then, at an uncertain hour,
That agony returns:
And till my ghastly tale is told,
This heart within me burns.
I pass, like night, from land to land;
I have strange power of speech;
That moment that his face I see,
I know the man that must hear me:
To him my tale I teach.
If you are unfamiliar with Timm’s work, I can mostlynhighly recommend it, even from a moral point of view. Black hats are black hats, white hats are white hats. His best work, in my opinion, is the second season of a Justice League Unlimited. Excellent. There is the moral caution of one of the characters (Green Lantern, John Stewart) having a relationship with Hawkgirl, but it is clear from the commentaries made by the voice actors that most of them have Christian sensibilities, which is a rarity in Hollywood. Not everyone up the food chain shares their sentiments, but it is so refreshing hearing them talk like humble actors instead of egotists.
As for Nightcrawler, the 1990’s X-men cartoon, recently released, has a two-part episode where Nightcrawler’s beliefs and back story are put forth.
Christians are far and few between in Hollywood. The best one, who has not received enough credit, was Gene L. Coon. He was responsible for the episode, Bread and Circuses, in Star Trek, TOS, which is about as blatant an apologetic for Christianity that you are likely to ever see on tv (except for the ending of the of black and white Outer Limits episode, ZZZZZ…).
Venerable Fulton Sheen was once to remark something to the effect that when the Church lost some aspect of the Faith, it moved to Hollywood.
As for news, it is the greed for ratings, just like the greed at Wall Street that undermines it. Both come from the same source: the belief that a limited investment deserves an infinite payback. It is an attempt to create a Heaven made of gold.
The Chicken
Aside from all the points made here about the quality of news coverage, how about the quantity? If one were to use a stop watch, I believe we’d realize we’re only being offered these banal stories, done in sound bites, perhaps 16-17 minutes out of the half hour. The rest is advertisement, usually for drugs ( especially Cialis) or cars. When I was younger, I seem to remember commercials coming on at the half and quarter hours, no more. Now the most oft-used sentence from the news anchor is ” when we come back”…
It seems cricket players have a hard time decyphering baseball as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKY5fmDGVLs
My eldest quipped recently that perhaps the Holy Father could get a tandem bicycle and ride behind a member of the Swiss Guard.
Superman may have visited a priest, but Nightcrawler of X-Men fame was ORDAINED a priest (well, until it was retconned to just be an illusion by the next writer who had no idea how to handle issues of faith or religion).
Of course, Kurt sadly sacrificed himself to save another character and has since been replaced by a rather more twisted version from an alternate universe (at least as of about a year ago when I had to temporarily stop spending all my money on comics…)