Getting the story correct, checking facts and clear writing is not one of Kim Geiger of the LA Times better skills. Geiger’s recent article claiming that the US Bishops supported and/or told the Catholic faithful to support the Democratic bill on healthcare reform is wrong. Does the LA Times still hire fact checkers? Do reporters still speak to real people, perhaps 2-3 sources prior to publication?
What Ms Geiger confuses for legitimate Catholic authority in teaching and governing the Church is really a left-leaning group claiming to work in the ambit of the Church’s Social Teaching. It seems as though Ms Geiger does know the basics of Catholic teaching very well. Did you get that sense from her article? Catholics United support the Pelosi-Obama agenda. Catholics United does not speak for the US Conference of Bishops; neither do they speak for local pastors nor for the faithful Catholic. As Dan Gilgoff said in his US News.com article on October 28th, Catholics United “provides cover for the White House and the Democrats.”
If you want to know what the bishops are saying, read the press lease of November 9, 2009. US Conference President, Francis Cardinal George is clear on what the bishops think about healthcare reform. And form what I can gather, I don’t think the bishops completely agree with the Democratic party’s version of the healthcare reform bill.
So, Archbishop Dolan’s recent nonpublished NY Times piece is actually correct (which we knew all the time): there is verifiable proof of bias in the media against the Catholic Church in the USA.
The Times published a correction: “FOR THE RECORD: An article in Sunday’s Section A about abortion-funding language inserted into the House healthcare bill to secure its passage said the measure had won support from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which urged Catholics to “lend their full-throated support” to the legislation. That statement and a statement that followed should have been attributed to the group Catholics United. The bishops group, which supports the House healthcare bill, issued its own statement that said: “Our bishops’ conference has been working for many years to support healthcare reform legislation that truly protects the life, dignity, health and consciences of all. Adopting this amendment will help move us move toward this essential national priority and moral imperative.””
Thanks. I went looking for the correction in the LA Times and it’s gone, or I am too blind to see. Nevertheless, I thank you. I’m not well disposed to accepting this type of mediocre work from the media. Who is going to look for corrections? The damage is done.