Watching MSNBC & CNN as a Means of Mortification

After taping and reviewing some of the EWTN highlights from yesterday and last night's coverage of the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, I decided to quickly check MSNBC and CNN for coverage they were providing...

Larry King's guests included Fr. Joseph Fessio, Fr. John Bartunek, Paul Wilkes of BeliefNet, Fr. Michael Manning of "The Word in the World", John Allen of The National unCatholic Reporter, and the infamous "Sister" Joan Chittister. Thankfully, Frs. Fessio and Bartunek were there to bring some sanity back to the conversations.

So, as a sort of unique method of self-flagellation, I opted to watch this "wringing of hands" for about 15-20 minutes.

Wilkes stated:

I called some of my excellent parishes and talked to the pastors. And their reaction was a lot like mine, Larry, that this was a real crisis of imagination on the part of the cardinals. We had talked so much during the week about third world collegiality, a new voice for the church. And really, what the cardinals did, they went right back to the same old, same old. And this is the man that has been kind of the grim reaper in the Catholic Church and been this very strict guy on doctrine and liturgy

He called some of his excellent parishes? He may not realize it, but the real crisis is with him and his apostate brethren...

Fr. Manning (with whom I'm not familiar and thankfully so) says:

I'm concerned about a lot of issues. And I'm hoping -- I was hoping in a strong way that the new man would be able to open it up, this topic of collegiality, the empowerment of local areas to be able to make decisions on their own and to be empowered. The place of women in the church, the empowerment of women.

Ahhh, yes! The elusive and nebulous "collegiality". And, of course, no conversation is complete unless one speaks about "empowerment"...especially "empowerment" of womyn...

And then we have John Allen, self-described Vatican 'expert':

I certainly would agree that Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, comes to this job with a bit of baggage.

Reality, also, is something which escapes many...it seems that it is those who are (and have been )carrying a load of baggage who wish to project that image on to others. To some, baggage is synonomous with upholding the truth, with standing up for the teachings of Christ and His Church. Perhaps a better word would be, not baggage, but the Cross. Pope Benedict XVI, as our previous Holy Father and so many before him, have the burden of the Cross to bear for Christ and his Church. Some are incapable of seeing this - some have been blinded and can no longer see.

Thankfully, Fr. Fessio helps to steer us back to reality:

...after all is said and done, he's a Catholic, Larry. And Catholics believe that Jesus has given us the truth and we must preserve it and pass it on. He does that. John Paul II did that...So he clearly knows the church's teaching, loves them, expresses them very beautifully, and I think we have a pope for our time.

Amen, Father! It's about the truth as given to us by Christ - not what our puny and flawed minds think that it might be.

But then "Sister" Joan reminds us that her view of the Church is different than that of Christ:

I was expecting a more pastoral, a more open face to the church than this history brings us....At the same time I must admit that as a woman I was deeply concerned. His latest document on women is disheartening. It shows a very limited awareness of the development of the woman's movement. I think he's going to have an awful lot to learn in this arena. He seems to think that feminism is monolithic. He doesn't seem to understand there's been an evolution.

Surely, she means "Revolution" rather than "evolution"...Anyway, watching her and listening to her is truly painful, a rather vile sort of penance.

There was much more but, in order to be inspire faith , hope and charity, I close with something Fr. Fessio says:

First of all, Larry, he's already performed a miracle. We've seen it on your show. He got me to agree with Sister Joan Chittister, if he follows St. Benedict, he'll be a good listener. I agree with Father Manning too, he needs to listen. But you know something, I've know him for 33 years, I've never ever met a man who listens as well and as intently as Cardinal Ratzinger does. I've never heard him raise his voice, never heard him lose his temper. He's got a gentle sense of humor. But he always listens....
So, there's no one more collegial than Cardinal Ratzinger or Benedict. He will be a great blessing in that area.
...
I want to say one thing, Larry, about Vatican II, too -- there's kind of a myth here. The Pope Benedict -- I've seen him celebrate the mass in English. He does that beautifully. But Vatican II actually did not call for an anti-Gregorian chant, in fact, it said specifically, the Gregorian chant should have the pride of place in the Catholic liturgy. Vatican II did not abolish Latin. In fact, it said specifically that Latin should remain the language of the mass with some vernacular for the readings especially. So, to claim that Second Vatican Council was responsible for abolishing Latin or for abolishing Gregorian chant is simply misunderstanding the council at which Ratzinger was present helping the people that wrote those documents.

More here.