I was going to write about this bit here – about local gay Catholic groups complaining about Archbishop Nienstedt’s cracking down on LGBT services at a liberal local parish.
Brian “Saint Paul” Ward, however, beat me to it with a huge headstart pointing out correctly that…:
To put it in terms a journalism school graduate might appreciate, the Catholic Church not hosting a Gay Pride event is dog bites man. It happens every day.
Now, a Catholic parish hosting these events, as apparently St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis has been doing so for the past several years, is man bites dog (i.e., an unusual, infrequent event more likely to be reported as news than an ordinary, everyday occurrence).
Reasonably speaking, that is what should have been covered the past few years. Maybe some shock headlines, “Catholic Parish Hosting Gay Pride Event” followed by quotes from founders of obscure pressure groups for traditional values accusing the organizers of spiritual violence and Christophobic hatred.
Of course, the local agenda-media coverage – Grow at the MNPost, Andy Birkey in the Minnesoros Monitor “Independent” – took the “man biting dog” angle with dreary predictability and impeccable punctuality.
…the most thoroughly dishonest portrayal comes from the new media. Here are excerpts from Doug Grow at the website MinnPost.
Remember when it was OK for Catholics to pray with gays and lesbians?
Be careful whom you pray for…Apparently with a straight face, McGrath said that this isn’t some new crackdown because Archbishop John Nienstedt is now in charge. Recently retired Archibishop Harry Flynn would have cracked down on this, too, had he known of it, McGrath said. Maybe…Many are saddened and angry ? but probably not surprised.
There’s got to be an award for reporting this awful. (A Pulitzer maybe?) Of course, this dispute has absolutely nothing to do with who you pray with or who you pray for. The Church encourages gay activists to attend Mass (sans sacraments, as with anyone in a state of mortal sin) and practically requires Catholics to pray for all those in mortal sin. At his age and experience, Grow should know this. In fact, comments testifying to these facts were in the article he linked to. But he ignores that, misrepresents the issue entirely, questions the integrity of the Church spokesman, and casts his favored actors as oppressed victims. Not bad for a couple of paragraph’s work.
The big question: When did Doug Grow turn into Nick Coleman?
Grow is a former columnist for the Star Tribune. The only silver lining here is realizing he’s now at an online liberal ghetto like MinnPost, instead of working the monopoly newspaper in town. His ability to confuse the issue and demonize his political enemies in the public’s imagination is now severely limited. Let’s be thankful for small favors.
Andy Birkey? This is your future!
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