New York City, N.Y., May 1, 2010 / 15:56 pm
In an analysis by Kathryn Jean Lopez of the National Review Online, she argues that the Associated Press coverage of the Church's sexual abuse scandal is about more than “protect[ing] children and bring[ing] justice to pedophile priests.”
Lopez’s piece begins by referring to an April 18 article run in the Washington Post which takes its information from a PBS interview with Cardinal Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The AP article, however, “simplifies and caricatures the Church — teachings, governance, and people — and ignores a key element of the scandals that has to be acknowledged,” she writes.
By using terms such as, “mea culpa” and “giant pep rally” to describe an expected papal apology at the conclusion of the Year for Priests next month, says Lopez, the AP is being coy, derogatory, and condescending. “The scandal, in the AP book, is about 'protect[ing] children and bring[ing] justice to pedophile priests.' But it’s about more than that.”
While Lopez acknowledges that abuse did take place involving priests, “there’s a related scandal involving dissent on sexual morality in the Church.”