Newsmax.com deserves a moment of praise, not for reporting that a Vatican official praised Sarah Palin, but because they referred to the source as a “Vatican official” and not “The Vatican” as reporters are wont to do.

I don’t know why it’s so hard for reporters to understand that one priest or bishop in Rome is not the spokesperson for the Vatican but it does seem to be. But Newsmax deserves credit because this is a story that probably could have been “sexed up” by saying the Vatican but they restrained themselves.

Vatican Official: Palin ‘Dream’ for Pro-Lifers

Sarah Palin’s firm opposition to abortion and her status as a mother of five prompted a Vatican official to describe the Republican vice president nominee as a “dream candidate.”

“I couldn’t be more happy,” a U.S. church official at the Vatican told Newsmax on the condition of anonymity. “She is, in many ways, a dream candidate, at least among Americans here.”

It is impossible to speak of a collective “Vatican view” about Palin, a member of the Assemblies of God, because not all Vatican officials have the same opinions or authority. And, although the Alaska governor’s pro-life position has earned praise in the Vatican hierarchy, the church officials also say they don’t know her stances on other issues.

Archbishop Raymond Burke, who was archbishop of St. Louis until Pope Benedict XVI recently appointed him to head the Vatican’s highest court, confessed to knowing little about Palin. But he said he would be “very interested to learn more about what she thinks.”

I know the media ten times from now until election day will run stories that “The Vatican” has endorses a candidate but, of course, it will actually just be the Vatican’s night janitor or some lonely priest speaking for themselves, but for once the media did a good job. Congrats…until next time.