The New York Times reported that Providence College cancelled the speaking engagement of a same-sex marriage advocate who calls himself “the gay moralist.” I wrote about it at The Cardinal Newman Society. Check it out.
But I wanted to bring attention to how the Times reports the news. The lede is pretty straightforward but then they added this nugget:
The cancellation was announced by the college’s provost on Saturday, one day after the Roman Catholic Church was rocked by the publication of a long interview in which Pope Francis called for the church to “find a new balance” by refraining from frequent condemnations of homosexuality, abortion and birth control, and emphasizing mercy and love.
Nice juxtaposition, huh? And this is a news story?
So now, according to The Times, Catholic colleges must invite pro-abortion and pro-same-sex marriage or else they’re going against the pope.
September 24, 2013 at 5:09 pm
You seem pretty sure the NYT is wrong here. I submit that none of us know if their interpretation of Francis is right or wrong. For all we know, Francis might let him speak. Who is he to judge.
September 24, 2013 at 5:27 pm
I'm sad to say that I agree with Harry.
September 24, 2013 at 8:40 pm
PC made the wrong call here. PC should not be afraid of exposing its students to this man's views. Each student pays $50,000 a year for a liberal arts education, not to be denied one.
September 24, 2013 at 8:40 pm
PC made the wrong call here. PC should not be afraid of exposing its students to this man's views. Each student pays $50,000 a year for a liberal arts education, not to be denied one.
September 24, 2013 at 11:47 pm
@pat. Agreed. As long as various perspectives and not simply the usual yes and no perspective done by the mainstream media. I concur.
@mr. Seldon. I think the issue people have with the nyt wasn't that they weighed in, it's just that a cursory glance of the Popes words indicate he didn't single out specific issues. S when the nyt or other MSM sources decide it only applies to their advocacy issues like abortion and homosexuality, it seems disingenuous. I agree. It's open to interpretation, but when I see mr. Cuckoo…sorry, an intuitive autocorrect. i meant mr couomo of CNN shouting down a guest, saying he can't say that or talk about certain issues anymore…well. I suspect he is dead wrong.
September 25, 2013 at 1:24 am
Actually, Seldon, we do know the correct interpretation of Francis' remarks. Hint: yours would require a Pope to essentially be teaching heresy on faith and morals, which means the deposit of faith is being changed, the Gates of Hell have prevailed against the Church, and thus Christ was a liar and no Christ at all. So the interpretation where that's not happening—which by an odd coincidence is the only one that doesn't require "Jacques Derrida"-levels of reading-in—is the correct one.
September 25, 2013 at 6:23 am
The NYT, as Fr. Z calls it the devils bible, editorializing a news story? Naaaaah.
September 25, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Thank you Sophia's Favorite.. The Pope is new at this so it might sound to some people like he's changing the Church, but he's just not as good as the last two popes at saying exactly what he means.
September 26, 2013 at 3:16 pm
Sophia's Favorite –
No, that's quite wrong. Whether or not to allow a speaker on a campus is not a matter of doctrine, it is a matter of prudential judgement. You have no idea what Francis would do if he were to rule on the case personally. You need to keep the various elements of the various Francis controversies straight in your mind that you can comment on them accurately.