Pope Francis did not say that the Church is “obsessed” with homosexuality, abortion, and contraception...

Pope Francis and His Critics

by Scott P. Richert

Pope Benedict XVI, according to the New York Times, wanted a smaller, purer Catholic Church. Pope Francis, if the Times is to be believed, is well on the way to making the first part of his predecessor’s putative vision a reality, by driving all of those who remain faithful to Christian moral teaching out of the Church.

Of course, when it comes to all things Catholic, the New York Times (and especially Laurie Goodstein, its designated hitter on stories involving the Catholic Church) is not to be believed. Up until March 13, 2013, most faithful Catholics in the United States knew that. But since the election of Pope Francis, a small but increasing number of those same Catholics seem inclined to believe every distortion that Miss Goodstein writes, and the Times sees fit to print, about the Holy Father.

The latest lie involves Pope Francis’s interview with the Italian Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica. As Steven D. Greydanus points out, the Times‘ breathless story went through at least three headlines on their website (and at least two versions of the opening paragraph) before settling on the one that upset so many American Catholics last Thursday morning, September 19: “Pope Says Church Is ‘Obsessed’ With Gays, Abortion and Birth Control.”

Of course, Pope Francis said nothing of the sort, as the full English translation of the interview, published by the U.S. Jesuit journal America, makes clear. Here’s a little tip to keep in mind when reading articles on the Catholic Church in the New York Times (or, really, any of the mainstream media): If the “gotcha” quotation is a single word, it has been taken out of context. Not sometimes, or even most of the time, but 100 percent of the time.

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