Certainly there is value in having a publication for stories like this, but stories like this one coming from a “Catholic” paper are a bit questionable.
Participants were given handouts that made strong points about war and violence, noting that 60 percent of the United States’ federal budget is spent on the military — while such vital needs as health care, education, housing and urban development, and environmental protection all come out of the remaining 40 percent.
Well that’s just a bunch of stuff. Some might even call it mularky. A quick googling shows that military spending is in the 20-30% range as is spending on health care programs. So the Courier prints bad numbers because they relied on some liberal propaganda… that’s forgivable and I understand it’s hard to fact check everything. That’s where being able to comment on articles is really beneficial. Someone might write something like, “hey, I think those numbers are wrong – can you check it out?” In fact, that’s a comment I just made. Will it make it though moderation? My experience says no. A self respecting journalistic institution ought to be open to the facts. But not the award winning Catholic Courier. Instead they simply delete comments that disagree with the liberal agenda. Or maybe they just delete everything I write. You tell me – have you had comments not make it though moderation? Before you click submit, save the text of the comment, the url of the article you’re commenting on, the date, and send it to me or post it here. I’d like to offer another outlet for comments on Catholic Courier articles.
Here’s another comment I left not too long ago that didn’t make it through. The article was “Caretaker role intended to watch over diocese”. The portion I was commenting on was this:
Father Hart, who was one of two diocesan vicars general and also moderator of the diocesan Pastoral Center under Bishop Emeritus Matthew H. Clark, noted that the appointment of an apostolic administrator in a vacant see is not unusual. For instance, he noted that Archbishop Alexander Brunett, archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Seattle, was recently appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Oakland, Calif. And closer to home, Bishop Robert J. Malone of Buffalo also continues to watch over his former diocese of Portland, Maine, Father Hart noted.
my comment was something like this (paraphrasing as I didn’t take my own advice above of saving the text before I submitted).
Actually, neither of those cases are quite like the one we had in Rochester. In both of those cases, the bishops’ seats were empty because they had been appointed for work elsewhere. In the case of Rochester, our Bishop wasn’t heading anywhere else – he was simply retiring. I do believe it’s a misnomer to say this situation wasn’t quite unusual.
Some might say, “well, they just don’t like controversy. It should just be a feel-good paper and not lower itself to arguments within the flock.” Well, that’s just find and dandy except for the fact that this paper has no problem scolding authentic Catholicism over and over again. For a quick example, here’s a comment on the article “Pope accepts Bishop Clark’s resignation, appoints Syracuse Bishop as apostolic administrator”, :
by Don Muench on September 21, 2012, 11:19 PM
Of course, we’ll never get an explanation for this rather unusual (to put it mildly) transition. Suffice it to say that this arrangement appears to be an insensitive, hamhanded and disrespectful treatment of the Faithful in our Diocese and of our Bishop.
So let’s recap the Courier’s comment policy:
- not acceptable: Questioning liberal “facts”
- perfectly acceptable: Calling the pope insensitive, hamhanded, and disrespectful
And don’t forget that they continue to publish articles by this guy.
Related article here.
side note: for those who don’t have time to research every local candidate and thus consider themselves unworthy of voting, here’s the cliff notes for you:
http://www.priestsforlife.org/candidates/2012-party-platform-comparison-web.pdf
Tags: DoR Catholic Courier
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Thanks, Ben, for this link:
http://www.priestsforlife.org/candidates/2012-party-platform-comparison-web.pdf
I will share it with others, as well.
Regarding submitting comments that don’t get posted, I am happy to report this site has never refused posting any of my comments…..lol
Before I had a PC, I would type out letters to the editor for the D&C and the Catholic Courier. You guessed it; a percentage of those letters never made it in print. I was satisfied, though. At least two others were aware of my heartfelt opinion: The LORD OUR GOD and whoever refused to print it.
That’s satisfaction.
The Catholic Courier: Just a bunch of waster ink and paper.
It desperately needs a new editor and new writers. Which can be found on here on Cleansing Fire!
So glad this is soon a most real possibility!
It is handy for lining my birdcage, though.
I hope the editors and many of the writers are replaced in the new administration.
I submitted a comment to the Courier and it was not accepted. At that point I knew I had “hit the nail on the head”. The Courier and a segment of the diocese wants no controversy, unrest, dissention, or facts. It has become enmeshed with the secular culture and codependent with it. Christ looked out for the most unfortunate and poor. When have you heard an anti-abortion sermon in this diocese. It is more of a political entity than a religious/spiritual one. How open is this diocese to both innovative and traditional ideas?
I don’t think we need another American bishop but one from a third world country or from Spain like : “Spain’s youngest bishop has taken a voluntary pay cut as a mark of solidarity with the poor and unemployed. His country has the highest unemployment rate in Europe with 5.3 million out of work, or 23 per cent of the working age population. Xavier Novell i Gomà, 42, the Bishop of Solsona in Catalonia, one of the smallest dioceses in Spain, cut his pay by 25 per cent to set an example as the country endures one of the toughest economic crises in decades.”
I don’t think there is any point in sending this to the Courier, but I just want to say thank you to Bishop Perry for his first 90 days with us. Extraordinary! He must be a good sport too.
“I don’t think there is any point in sending this to the Courier, but I just want to say thank you to Bishop Perry for his first 90 days with us. Extraordinary! He must be a good sport too.”
No!! He just hasn’t done anything here we can be critical off!!!
In the 1990’s almost every letter to the editor, from the Catholic Physician’s guild was published. Every one of the letters defended some facet of Catholic doctrine, much of it was in dispute by the DOR
I think it’s a bit unfair to hold the Courier accountable for Father Hart’s quote regarding the Vatican’s acceptance of Bishop Clark’s resignation, for surely Father Hart is much too intelligent to know that this is, in fact, a most unusual occurrence. He is correct that having an Apostolic Administrator is not unusual; there are eight or nine of them leading dioceses in the U.S. at the present moment. Every one of them, save ours, was appointed due to the local bishop having been appointed bishop someplace else. And it happens when a Bishop resigns for health reasons or dies in office.
But I’ll have to do a little research to find the last instance of a bishop’s resignation being accepted with no replacement in sight as ours’ resignation was. I know it happened to +Weakland; perhaps it’s happened since, I’ll check into it and report back.
I don’t disagree, Mouse. My complaint is that they don’t publish my comments.
and whaddya know?! both of my comments have now been published!
I meant “not to know”
Hi Ben,
I just left a comment on the Courier’s website regarding the “60%” stat. I’m sorry, but that is outrageous. Call me cynical, but it seems clear after years of reading the Courier that it has an agenda it prefers to promote. The editors should be ashamed of their barely concealed politics.
Nerina “after years of reading the Courier that it has an agenda it prefers to promote. The editors should be ashamed of their barely concealed politics.”
Kindly go to the Courier web site and see the list of the names of the editorial board and also who actually owns the Courier. It is owned by the Diocese of Rochester and reflects the diocese’s aggendum so don’t expect objective reporting.