Times Watch for October 16, 2003
The
"Reviled" Pope
Frank Bruni reports from Vatican City on the 25th
anniversary of the reign of Pope John Paul II-but Bruni can't let the
anniversary pass without taking potshots on how the Pope is "reviled by many"
for daring to uphold conservative church doctrine.
Although Bruni's "For
Pope, a Milestone on Road of Epic Events" credits John Paul II for his "fervent
opposition" to Communism and for a "remarkable reign," Bruni also accuses the
Pope of having "widened some rifts among Catholics, his conservative take on
church teachings infuriating many progressives and driving them further from the
fold. John Paul has been revered by many people, reviled by many others but
ignored by few, because he could not be."
The Pope is not only
reviled, he's also somehow an alienating force for upholding traditional
Catholic teaching: "In other ways, John Paul has been the pope who alienated. He
communicated to Catholic women that they should not hope to be ordained as
priests. He made clear to homosexuals that the church did not regard a loving
partnership between two men or two women as anything remotely close to a
heterosexual marriage. He forbade the use of artificial birth control and
discouraged talk about doing away with the vow of celibacy for Catholic
priests."
(Note to Bruni: The
Catholic Church was against artificial birth control before Pope John Paul II-a
teaching reemphasized by Pope Paul VI when he issued his encyclical letter
Humanae Vitae in 1968.)
For more of Frank Bruni's story on the Pope's 25th
anniversary,
click here.
Birth Control |
Catholicism |
Conservatism |
Gaffes |
Pope
|
Religion |
Women
Bush's
Tax Cuts Have Cost California
Bush is going to California to meet with
governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Times reporters warn the state may not
get much else from the president thanks to his tax cuts: "Tax cuts and the cost
of the war on terror have emptied the federal treasury, leaving little for
California and other hard-pressed states." There's no mention of all the
California citizens who have benefited from Bush's tax cuts.
Thursday's Times story (by
John Broder and Richard Stevenson) also pastes an unflattering adjective onto
the most prominent conservative politician in the race: "More than 60 percent of
those who voted in the recall election chose Mr. Schwarzenegger or State Senator
Tom McClintock, a doctrinaire conservative Republican."
For more of Broder and Stevenson on Bush's trip to
California,
click here.
George W. Bush
|
California
|
Labeling Bias
|
Arnold
Schwarzenegger