Cardinal Bertone is upset with the press.
Many journalists play at imitating Dan Brown. They continue to invent fables or repeat legends.
Leaks are not legends. Mr Brown is an author of fiction. He makes oodles of money from book sales and film rights. Not so journalists who jostle with various media outlets and personalities to get attention. Their jobs are predicated on out-performing the opposition.
Cardinal Bertone lamented that stories of the church’s extensive charitable works have been “intentionally ignored or erased” amid heavy press coverage of the scandal.
It happens. Scandal sells product for the corporate masters. I can attest that my political posts get more attention than our discussions on liturgical documents. Of course, I’m glad to report that wedding readings get the most visits of all. I still think a daily blog from the pope, even edited sections of his writings, adapted for a daily reflection, would get swamped with visitors. Instead, we get the spectacle of cardinals fighting, of a suspicious-looking guilty butler, and questions that involve lots and lots of money.
Meanwhile, Dan Brown is a producer of stories. I remember several years ago when St Blog’s was going ga-ga over the works of Mr Brown. I kept saying, “It’s fiction, folks.” Clearly, he’s made an impression in the Vatican.
Let’s get back to VatiLeaks. I have little doubt that the cardinal is right to suggest that “there is a malicious will to produce division” in the Church. Some of it comes from some members of a hierarchy in their attempt to gain and/or consolidate power. There are others who enjoy the spectacle of scandal in the way that it’s interesting to watch a trainwreck. I wonder if some just want to force the Church into a locus of telling the truth. The journalists are just working with what they’re fed. I hope Cardinal Bertone is giving his boss the full picture here. Pope Benedict has more to be sad about than his personal assistant.
18 June 2012 at 7:57 pm
What with curia intrigue as it was, is, and ever shall be, amen, I have no interest in what C. Bertone wants floated into the Vaticanista news cycle.
But, (and I like Mr. Brown’s fiction) if you think that Dan Brown writes without agenda, Todd, think and research again.
He is fiction’s counterpart to Dr. Bart Ehrmann, UNC., researcher extraordinaire, and professional, systematic debunker for profit AND he has to establish his own credentials to satisfy the capricious anarchy of the marketplace that loves and thrives on controversy and conspiracy. Good yarn, yeah. Good man? Who are we to judge? But we’d better be damned informed about who these guys really are.
19 June 2012 at 2:39 pm
What author and associated publisher DOESN’T have the agenda of selling books? Even B16′s publisher is looking for sales and profits.
19 June 2012 at 7:53 am
Thanks for commenting Charles. I agree Dan Brown and his publisher have an agenda: to sell the most books possible. Conspiracies are nice, but if they don’t sell, all you have is crackpottery. Now, all I have to do is get the CDF to condemn my musical, and I figure I’ll be able to finance my daughter’s college education. What do you think?
19 June 2012 at 3:37 pm
J and T, it doesn’t surprise me that the “duh” retort, but it’s a poor teacher’s tactic to send the “dunce” to the corner when the teacher, in this case- yourselves-really don’t want to engage and honest, if stupid or ludicrous question. Gentlemen, I’m not inviting a big-brain p*ssing contest.
Hence my reference to the now fairly discredited professor Ehrmann.
Since the NYTimes is so villified by the Catholic League and “right”, just do me a favor, read this column, then reconsider my question.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/opinion/19douthat.html