This is what it has come to. This is what passes for reporting these days.
Here is a story about a new European Stock Index for companies that are socially responsible and operate within the guidelines of Catholic teaching. Ok that’s good right? The headline reads “Vatican backs new equities index” and then the lede states “Investors are being invited to put money into a new Catholic equities index that is being backed by the Vatican, at a time when the church is dealing with an increasing number of disaffected congregants in the wake of abuse allegations. “
The story is ostensibly about the index company Stoxx launching a new index. What the heck does that have to do with the abuse scandal? Absolutely nothing, of course, except the suggestion that the “Vatican” is behind the scheme.
But the article, it should come as no surprise, never establishes exactly how the Vatican is supposed to be backing this index. The only reference in the article is that someone in the “Vatican” sits on the advisory committee. Who? At what level? Never you mind.
The suggestion is clear, the VATICAN is trying get your money and they have had a scandal don’tcha know?.
May I once again suggest my helpful axiom that no reporter in the secular media should be allowed to use the word “Vatican” unless they have an actual quote from a senior member of the curia.
This bit of reporting is really shameful. An independent company launching a new stock index is seen as an occasion to beat the Church over the abuse scandal. Shameful.
Please feel free to email the contents of this post to its author Phil Craig: pcraig@efinancialnews.com
April 26, 2010 at 4:46 pm
"As a debate involving the Catholic Church (either a discussion about the Church specifically, or a discussion in which the Church is taking a position) grows longer, the probability of someone mentioning the sex scandal approaches one."
Except that, here, the writer led with it right off the bat.
Shameful "reporting", indeed.
April 26, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Any chance to slam the Church never gets passed by.
April 26, 2010 at 7:37 pm
email sent.
April 26, 2010 at 10:02 pm
I sent one too…
April 26, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Somewhere in Austria there's a guy named Rudolf Vatican shaking his head and trying to figure out how his stock index idea got tied to a Church scandal.
April 28, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Of course, this type of "reporting" certainly saves Mr. Craig a great deal of time and effort. Here's how usful it is:
[insert ANY story vaguely related to the Catholic Church, then paste the following:]
The news comes after the Church has suffered from repeated allegations of widespread abuse by Catholic priests, along with accusations that senior officials in the Church, including the Pope, failed to deal with the problems appropriately.
See how neatly it all ties together?