On Thursday's front page of The Washington Post, reporter John Wagner wrote of how Maryland's top three leaders are Catholics but are "crossing the hierarchy" of the church by imposing "gay marriage" on the state: "But the presence of three Catholics at the helm in Annapolis hasn't stopped a same-sex marriage bill from wending its way through the legislature, triggering deep disappointment among church leaders as it suggests a waning of Catholic influence in this heavily Catholic state."
But it must have surprised readers that those "church leaders" Wagner referred to were nowhere to be found in this Post story, not even their names. Cardinal Donald Wuerl oversees the suburban Maryland counties of the Washington area, and Archbishop Edwin O'Brien oversees Gov. Martin O'Malley's Baltimore stomping grounds. Wagner somehow could not find them in his phone book. It's not as if these prelates have been quiet on the "gay marriage" issue in Maryland. Archbishop O'Brien just took great exception to the "hatemonger" label in his newspaper the Catholic Review:
In spite of Senator Brochin’s claim that he only “heard hate and venom coming out of that hearing,” witness after witness voiced their opposition, offering no such judgments or invective, including members of our Maryland Catholic Conference and an Archdiocesan parish. Their testimonies can be viewed at catholicreview.org/matysekblog. The notion that anyone opposed to same-sex marriage is a bigot or “hate monger” is not only unfair and insulting, it also ignores the very belief system that underpins our support for marriage.
Wagner and the Post seemed to want to let Catholic Democrats speak for themselves, and not create any public-relations problems for them by letting the actual church leaders discuss their opinions of these men and their John Kerry-style "not a Catholic on the day job" philosophy. Instead, Wagner quoted the top Catholic lobbyist, which doesn't have the same impact:
Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, a leading opponent of same-sex marriage, said she has been distressed by the debate and the governor's decision.
"It's always troubling when someone in such a public position openly disagrees with the church," she said, calling defeat of the legislation "a critically important issue for the church."
Wagner's report does dare to inquire about the depth of the politicians' practice of their faith. The story begins with Gov. O'Malley "regularly attends a weekday Mass and has sent his four children to Catholic schools" and later notes that neither House Speaker Michael Busch or Senate President Mike Miller is a regular churchgoer.
But have top church leaders personally contacted these Catholic politicians on this "critically important" issue? Or are they leaving all the phone calls to the church lobbyists? This is certainly a question worth investigating that would strengthen the Post's story if the emphasis was on crossing the "Catholic hierarchy." Putting that story on the front page without any apparent contact with the hierarchy is like walking into public without pants.
