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The Pope and the Palantir
Mar. 27th, 2010 09:36 amOver the past two or three months we've seen the media tar and feather Toyota for its accelerator problems. At length it emerged, as I suspected it might, that the media were paying a handful of isolated incidents more attention then they deserve and that Toyota is really no worse than any of its competitors when it comes to defects and recalls. I can't help but wonder if Toyota was a random target, or if someone friendly to one or more of its competitors was behind the scandal.
But now it's the Catholic Church's turn. Not only do the media continue to dig up stories of pedophilia among priests, but they've gone as far as accusing the Pope himself of being part of a cover-up.
To be honest, I'm no fan of the Catholic Church, which has done all sorts of evils in its two thousand year history in the name of a loving God. However, the media would have us believe this church is profoundly corrupt. Professor Tolkien, were he alive today, would be shocked to see his own son painted a pedophile in the palantir of the media giants. Now I have no doubt that if one puts any organization to a thorough examination one will find a few bad apples in it, but it seems improbable that there should be so many in one Church and none at all in any of the others, or that they should all be corrupt in the same way. Why are the always Catholic, and never Anglican or Orthodox or even Muslim? Why should all the malefactors molest children, and boys in particular? I know for a fact that other churches have their problems; a former Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts shot himself a few years ago rather than face an emerging sex scandal. But the media have it in for one particular church, and will not be satisfied until the Pope dangles from a gallows in St. Peter's Square.
I no longer believe in freedom of the press (although I do believe information should be freely available to those who seek it). The press is a weapon wielded by powerful interests arbitrarily, seemingly even on a whim. You or I, if we are unfortunate enough to belong to the wrong subset of humanity, may be among the next victims.
But now it's the Catholic Church's turn. Not only do the media continue to dig up stories of pedophilia among priests, but they've gone as far as accusing the Pope himself of being part of a cover-up.
To be honest, I'm no fan of the Catholic Church, which has done all sorts of evils in its two thousand year history in the name of a loving God. However, the media would have us believe this church is profoundly corrupt. Professor Tolkien, were he alive today, would be shocked to see his own son painted a pedophile in the palantir of the media giants. Now I have no doubt that if one puts any organization to a thorough examination one will find a few bad apples in it, but it seems improbable that there should be so many in one Church and none at all in any of the others, or that they should all be corrupt in the same way. Why are the always Catholic, and never Anglican or Orthodox or even Muslim? Why should all the malefactors molest children, and boys in particular? I know for a fact that other churches have their problems; a former Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts shot himself a few years ago rather than face an emerging sex scandal. But the media have it in for one particular church, and will not be satisfied until the Pope dangles from a gallows in St. Peter's Square.
I no longer believe in freedom of the press (although I do believe information should be freely available to those who seek it). The press is a weapon wielded by powerful interests arbitrarily, seemingly even on a whim. You or I, if we are unfortunate enough to belong to the wrong subset of humanity, may be among the next victims.
