A group of purported Catholic professors wrote an open letter on October 26, 2015 to "the editor of the New York Times" decrying a October 18 op-ed item about the Catholic Church by a conservative writer Ross Douthat. The letter, which was initially signed by 25 academics from Georgetown University, Villanova University, and other schools (the list has grown in subsequent days), claimed that Douthat "has no professional qualifications for writing on the subject," and "his view...has very little to do with what Catholicism really is." The objectors concluded, "This is not what we expect of the New York Times."
Christianity
By Mark Finkelstein | October 27, 2015 | 7:51 PM EDT
David Corn claims that there are "serious issues" about Ben Carson's Seventh Day Adventism faith. Great point, David. After all, for twenty years, Carson sat in the pews of a preacher who spewed "God damn America" hatred, a pastor that Carson chose to officiate his marriage and baptize his children.
Oh, wait: that wasn't Carson. It was Barack Obama, who chose Jeremiah "Chickens Coming Home to Roost" Wright as his personal pastor and faith guide. Never mind. On this evening's Hardball, Corn--an MSNBC analyst and head of the DC office of Mother Jones--claimed that Carson's religion needs to be investigated because it professes an end time. Guess what, David? All the Abrahamic religions do: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It's not a question of if, only when. So take your religious bigotry elsewhere, Corn.
By Matthew Balan | October 27, 2015 | 4:54 PM EDT
On Tuesday's New Day, CNN's Chris Cuomo bizarrely zeroed in on presidential contender Ben Carson's religious beliefs as a possible factor that could hurt his chances among the Republican base: "Is it fair criticism to look at Dr. Carson's faith being Seventh Day Adventist, in terms of how it may oppose evangelicals? There is a belief within the strictest tenets of Seventh Day Adventist belief that evangelicals will be going to hell. There are other extreme propositions in that faith, and in many."
By Mark Finkelstein | October 26, 2015 | 7:21 PM EDT
God forbid it should be said that Bernie Sanders throws a "Christmas" party!
Sanders wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, was interviewed on today's With All Due Respect. When Mark Halperin asked the affable Mrs. Sanders to share a side of her husband that people might not know, she twice mentioned that Bernie organizes an annual "Christmas" party. And twice she promptly corrected herself, calling it a "holiday" party.
By Matthew Balan | October 22, 2015 | 5:50 PM EDT
On Thursday, the Washington Post's Anthony Faiola spun the latest synod of Catholic bishops at the Vatican as a "theological slugfest" between two main factions of the Catholic hierarchy: the "liberal"/"progressive" backers of "Pope Francis's vision for a more inclusive church," versus a "backlash" from "conservatives/"traditionalists." Faiola even hyped how some unnamed "moderate conservatives" at the meeting were "shocked" by the "vehemence of the backlash," which supposedly pointed to a "rise of a Tea Party-like faction of bishops within the hierarchy."
By Scott Whitlock | October 16, 2015 | 1:09 PM EDT
In a surprising twist, the normally superficial Good Morning America devoted an entire story to religious liberty. Even more amazing, this two minute and 51 segment aired in the 8am hour. This air time on ABC is usually reserved for cat videos and reality TV stars. Co-host Robin Roberts explained the story of the high school football coach who has “been told to stop praying with students on the field or he could get fired. But he's not backing down.”
NYT Skips Louis Farrakhan's Vile History in Fact-Free Celebratory Report from D.C. 'Justice or Else' Rally
By Clay Waters | October 12, 2015 | 10:51 AM EDT New York Times reporter Jada Smith celebrated "Justice or Else," an ominously named protest marking the 20th anniversary of the "Million Man March," led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the preacher notorious for his anti-Semitic and paranoid ravings: "Echoing Calls for Justice Of Million Man March, But Widening Audience." This year's version latched on to the harder-edged tone of the Black Lives Matter social media movement. But you wouldn't learn anything about organizer Farrakhan from Smith's adulatory treatment.
By Tony Perkins | October 10, 2015 | 11:27 AM EDT
In the largest security detail in American history, there's no such thing as a "chance" meeting. But that's exactly what the media is claiming took place between Pope Francis and Kentucky's Kim Davis. Frustrated by the Pope's obvious support for the jailed clerk, the press is stirring up speculation about whether the conversation even took place.
By Bill Donohue | October 8, 2015 | 3:02 PM EDT
On September 30, the New York Times ran a front-page story that smeared St. Junipero Serra. Repeated attempts to have the paper correct the record have failed. This is yellow journalism at its worst. When I submit paid ads to the Times, I am often asked to identify my sources. Yet it accepts hit jobs like Holson's. The fact is there is no list of historians who claim Fr. Serra tortured Indians, and the Times knows it.
By Kristine Marsh | October 7, 2015 | 1:02 PM EDT
It’s newsworthy when people of faith are killed by a gunman -- except when they are Christian. The broadcast networks made that clear by the difference between the massive coverage of the shooting of three Muslims in February and the little coverage of how the Oregon shooter reportedly targeted Christians.
“Many have already judged this as a hate crime,” CBS’s Scott Pelley asserted on the Feb. 14 evening news broadcast covering the Chapel Hill shooting. When three Muslim students were killed by an angry neighbor last spring, the broadcast networks jumped to allege this was an anti-Muslim “hate crime” -- bringing that phrase up a whopping 30 times in eight broadcasts.
By Kristine Marsh | October 2, 2015 | 4:20 PM EDT
Thursday evening, news broke that the Oregon school shooter had questioned students about their faith before he shot them. Later Thursday, The New York Post reported an incredible detail: Christian students were specifically singled out by the shooter. By Friday morning, all three networks had told viewers of that nightmare scenario on their morning shows. The Washington Post and The LA Times followed up with the story shortly after.
But, for some reason, one notable media outlet was silent for the majority of Friday -- The New York Times.
After Fawning Over Pope's Economic Stands, NYT Accuses Him of Reigniting 'Culture Wars' by Meeting Kim Davis
By Clay Waters | October 1, 2015 | 11:44 PM EDT Religious double standards on the front of Thursday's New York Times: "The Pope, the Clerk and Culture Wars Revisited." During his U.S. tour, the Times celebrated Pope Francis's liberal tone on economic, environmental, and immigration issues. But when he reaffirmed his belief in religious freedom (and the Church's opposition to gay marriage) by secretly meeting with Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who went to jail instead of issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, the Times adopted a puzzled, chiding tone, fretting that the Pope was reigniting the U.S. "culture war."