With my [comments] and emphases.
Verbally, bishop isn't turning cheek
[Aside from the fact that the Scripture is totally taken out of context - Matthew 5:39 has nothing to do with a bishop correcting an errant member - note how this headline sets the tone that the bishop isn't acting like Jesus. Jesus, in the Gospel according to Globe, wouldn't correct Kennedy.]
R.I.'s Tobin welcomes tussles with politicians [Because opposition to abortion is political, not moral, not religious. Note how this is also a popular angle for coverage.]
by Noah Bierman
Globe Staff/November 12, 2009
PROVIDENCE - The bishop from America’s most Catholic state, and increasingly one of the church’s most provocative prelates, has provided a rather concise explanation for his willingness to clash with politicians: Christians are not supposed to be nice, at least not all the time.
“In confronting moral evil, Jesus wasn’t nice, kind, gentle, and sweet,’’ Thomas J. Tobin, the bishop of Providence, wrote in his diocesan newspaper column earlier this year. “He lived in a rough and tumble world and He took His message to the streets.’’
Tobin has followed his interpretation [um...has this journalist ever read the story of the temple moneychangers? Has he read what Jesus called the Pharisees?] of Jesus’ demeanor most devoutly, and he is quickly positioning himself at the national forefront of a renewed debate over the role of Catholic orthodoxy in the public square, most recently in a very personal feud [Again, this wording tries to marginalize what's going on. If Kennedy is acting in the public square, his views may be personal, but they are not private.] with Representative Patrick Kennedy. As the abortion issue has taken on prominence in the national health care debate, Tobin has insisted Catholics get involved in the rough world of politics [because it's only political, not moral, not religious]- even if it means tangling with prochoice Catholic [a contradiction in terms] legislators. And he has led by example.
Since his installation in 2005, he has challenged the Republican governor’s crackdown on illegal immigration, inserted himself into last year’s Republican presidential primary with a rebuke of Rudolph Giuliani on the abortion issue (in which he addressed him familiarly as “Rudy’’ in a commentary), and took on President Obama in a mock interview published in another of his columns (in which he facetiously quotes Obama advancing the rights of foreigners “to kill their children and use abortion as a form of birth control.’’) [If the shoe fits...]
His commentary, published regularly in the Rhode Island Catholic, is titled, not surprisingly, “Without a Doubt.’’ [Can we at least pretend to be objective?]
“He speaks his mind. He has his convictions,’’ said Beverley Smith, a 59-year-old nurse who attended lunchtime Mass at the gold-accented [relevant because..?] downtown cathedral in Providence yesterday.
Tobin and Kennedy, a member of one of America’s most prominent Catholic families, have been exchanging fiery words for weeks. But the rhetoric may have reached a climax in Tobin’s most recent column, in which he disputes Kennedy’s contention that disagreeing with church hierarchy makes him no less of a Catholic. [It's not just Tobin's opinion, though. It's what the Church teaches.]
“Well, in fact, Congressman, in a way it does,’’ Tobin wrote. “Your position is unacceptable to the church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the church.’’
A planned meeting between the men, scheduled for today, has been postponed indefinitely. According to the diocese, it was by mutual agreement. In a news conference Tuesday, Kennedy said he was willing to meet with Tobin but not willing to discuss his faith in public anymore. [In other words, Kennedy knows that this is a fight he cannot win, but he refuses to admit his errors.]
“I had initially agreed on a meeting with him, provided that we not debate this in public, in terms of my personal faith or things of that sort,’’ Kennedy said, according to the Associated Press. “And, unfortunately, he hasn’t kept to that agreement. And that’s been very disconcerting to me.’’ [Mr. Kennedy, millions of Catholics find it disconcerting that you are willing to ignore the Church's constant and ancient teaching about abortion, and willfully disregard the rebuke of your bishop.]
Earlier, Kennedy had questioned why church leaders would oppose the opportunity to insure millions of poor Americans because the bill could possibly provide [read: would] coverage for abortions. [Never mind that the Catholic Church leads the world in charitable giving.]
“You mean to tell me the Catholic Church is going to be denying those people life-saving health care?’’ Kennedy told the Catholic News Service last month. [Red herring. Note also that the reporter also fails to report any facts about what health care the Catholic Church provides or the fact that Catholic bishops have long advocated for reform of the health care system.] A health care bill was passed by the US House of Representatives over the weekend, with a controversial amendment restricting federal funding for abortion - considered a major victory for the nation’s Catholic bishops and other abortion opponents. Kennedy voted against the amendment [Thereby demonstrating that he is not acting as a Catholic should.] but supported the final bill.
Kennedy, through a spokesman, declined an interview request for this article. Tobin’s spokesman could not make him available, but the bishop said in a radio interview yesterday that it was Kennedy who started the fight [I wonder if those were Tobin's words. I somehow doubt it.] by making an unfortunate and ill-advised attack on church leadership.
But Tobin, a 61-year-old from Pittsburgh, has entered the debate with apparent relish.[Because it's all political and he's just enjoying his moment in the spotlight.] His office has been quick to send out responses and commentary as the debate has continued. His folksy yet pointed writing was singled out for praise by the Catholic Press Association in 2000, for columns he wrote for his former diocese in Youngstown, Ohio.
“I admit it; I’m a political junkie,’’ Tobin wrote in a column this month. “I follow political news pretty closely and if I weren’t a cleric, I’d probably run for something or other. In His wisdom, though, and perhaps to protect the public, the Lord has led me down a different path.’’ [Say it with me now: it's all political.]
Even in Rhode Island, where church estimates put the Catholic population at 58 percent of the state, bishops have not always entered the public sphere so readily. [The implication being that they need to stay in their churches.] The church was chastened by its effort in 1986 to pass a nonbinding referendum that called for severe restrictions on abortion. Much to everyone’s surprise, it failed miserably, said Maureen Moakley, a University of Rhode Island political scientist.
“After that defeat, the church kind of stepped back, and the next bishop was this live-and-let-live’’ leader [perhaps this was part of the problem - past bishops failing to govern their flocks] when it came to the political [always 'political'] establishment, Moakley said. “But the arrival of Tobin has been a very different attitude, a willingness to be confrontational about issues.’’
Moakley said the political impact remains a question that will not be settled until Kennedy and other members of the delegation face reelection. Tobin also has something at stake: a test of the church’s clout in a modern world [as opposed to the medieval world where faithful Catholics live?] where many in the flock disagree about abortion, gay marriage, and other social issues in which the leadership has taken an uncompromising stance.[Is it really so hard for journalists to understand that a.)the 'leadership' is not making it up as they go along and b.)the leadership doesn't have the authority to suddenly say that abortion and same-sex marriage are ok? Really? Is it so hard to comprehend that not everything can be negotiated away, that sometimes things are simply right or wrong?]
On the streets of Providence yesterday, opinions seemed divided on the Tobin/Kennedy issue, though some self-identified Catholics said they had little knowledge of Tobin or his commentaries. [IOW, Tobin is irrelevant.]
“He was ordained to uphold the Catholic doctrine. That’s what he’s doing,’’ said Fran Whitworth, the 42-year-old owner of Old World Cigar on Federal Hill.
But Janelle Ploude, who said she attends Mass weekly and keeps a large portrait of Jesus near her station at a downtown beauty parlor [wherein the reporter establishes her credentials], said Tobin has taken things too far.
“I feel like church and state should be two totally different things,’’ said Ploude, 31. [Aarrrgh. How many times must we point out that abortion isn't a political issue alone - it's a moral issue as well, and the Church has an obligation to weigh in on moral issues.]
Still others managed to find a middle ground [always a happy buzz word in a relativistic world] in a debate many find irreconcilable. [And for good reason: Tobin can't declare abortion morally permissable, and Kennedy probably won't admit his errors.]
“I can see both sides,’’ said Jim Aceto, a 59-year-old accountant from North Providence.
The bishop, who needs to set a tone for all Catholics, had no choice but to address the actions of a congressman who holds himself out as a Catholic, Aceto said. But the congressman, Aceto noted, needs to represent more than one group of people in his public role. [Not an excuse. In the early years, Catholics died rather than offer a speck of incense to a Roman god or be complicit in moral evils. Kennedy, like any good politician, should be willing to risk his seat in Congress to do what is right. It's a much lesser martyrdom than being torn apart by wild animals.]
“Abortion’s always a topic of discussion,’’ [except that Rome locuta est - Causa finita est. No room for nuances. Abortion is intrinsically evil.] said Aceto, who does not support Kennedy. “I know some very good Catholics that feel the way Kennedy does.’’ [By definition, however, they are no longer "very good Catholics" if they support abortion.]
It's also worth pointing out how this article is structured in its final paragraphs. By ending on that quote, the reporter is making sure that the reader's last thought is that one can be a "very good Catholic" while agreeing with Kennedy - which is untrue. The article would have a whole different feel if the reporter pointed that out, or ended on Fran Whitworth's quote.
It's a shame the reporter didn't bother to a.) check the relevant Scriptures and b.) learn a thing or two about the Catholic Church before writing this article.
It's also a shame that bishops acting with conviction are so newsworthy. In this Year of the Priest, pray for them, that they might have the courage to be vastly unpopular for the sake of Jesus and His Church.
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