There is a deeply flawed, perhaps even mendacious, piece on CNN about Archbishop Vigneron’s comments about Catholics who promote same-sex marriage and reception of Holy Communion. I posted about that HERE.
The CNN article suggests, implies, hints, that the Archdiocese of Detroit is now trying to “step back” from or “dial back” what Vigneron said, by “adding content”.
The problem with CNN’s claim is that, well, it’s wrong. The Archdiocese, by adding content, didn’t “step back” at all.
Here is the little of the CNN piece with my emphases and comments.
Detroit archdiocese dials back no Communion for same-sex marriage supporters [There's the "dial back".]This is biased reporting, if it is reporting at all.
By Dan Merica, CNN
Washington (CNN) – The Archdiocese of Detroit tried to reframe a day-old statement by Archbishop Allen Vigneron that compared Catholics who advocate for same-sex marriage and receive Communion to people committing perjury.
After an academic with ties to the church [Pretty dismissive, no? The "academis" is Ed Peters.] wrote in a blog post that Catholics who advocate same-sex marriage should not receive Communion, Vigneron told the Detroit Free Press on Sunday that Catholics who support same-sex marriage and receive Communion would “logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury.”
“For a Catholic to receive Holy Communion and still deny the revelation Christ entrusted to the church is to try to say two contradictory things at once: ‘I believe the church offers the saving truth of Jesus, and I reject what the church teaches,’ ” Vigneron told the paper. “In effect, they would contradict themselves.”
On Monday, the archdiocese looked to step back and add context to the statement. [The implication, together with that "reframe" and "dial back" is that Archbp. Vigneron is changing his mind, saying something different. That's not true.]
“The archbishop’s focal point here is not ‘gay marriage’; it is a Catholic’s reception of Holy Communion,” Joe Kohn, the archdiocese spokesman, wrote in an e-mail to CNN. [Uh huh. Fine. The issue of legalization of same-sex marriage isn't the Archbishop's focus in his statement. His focus is the state of the soul of the people who push for it. Going on...] “If a Catholic publicly opposes the church on a serious matter of the church’s teaching, any serious matter – for example, whether it be a rejection of the divinity of Christ, racist beliefs, support for abortion or support for redefining marriage – that would contradict the public affirmation they would make of the church’s beliefs by receiving Communion.” [I don't see a "dialing back" there, do you?]
Kohn continued: “As the archbishop states, the pastors of the church are ready to assist Catholics to help them understand and avoid this conflict.” [Was the "dialing back" in part of the email that the writer chose not to share?]
[... some of the back story, which I will cut out...]
A majority of Catholics, according to polling, disagree with this view of Communion. [And now CNN tries to show how backward and out of step Vigneron is with the "majority". Hopefully he'll start listening to the Voz del Pueblo pretty soon and really "dial back" his medieval views.]
A 2011 survey by the National Catholic Reporter [ROFL!] found that 86% of Catholics said they believe a Catholic “can disagree with aspects of church teachings and still remain loyal to the church.” [I love this... CNN is pitting Archbp. Vigneron against the Fishwrap.]
The same survey found that 35% of Catholics said the church’s opinion on same-sex marriage was very important, a number that reporter William D’Antonio says is lower in previous years.
“What more and more Catholics are saying,” D’Antonio wrote in 2011, “is that my lived experiences are different than what the church is saying.”
[And that is where the article ends.]
Furthermore, here is the image that accompanied the piece, together with the caption CNN posted with it.
Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron gives communion to a parishioner.
The CNN writer or the editor can’t get that right. They didn’t get anything else right either.
UPDATE 21:58 GMT:
CNN has changed the title of their entry!
Ed Peters, the “academic” responded as well. HERE.
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