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Contact: Jeff Field, Director of Communications, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, 212-371-3191, cl@catholicleague.org
NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2011 /Standard Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue looks at the way two newspapers are covering the pope's visit to Germany:
Perhaps the two most premier newspapers in the U.S. and Germany are the New York Times and Der Spiegel, respectively. Yesterday, the first day of Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Germany, the Times' story focused on the pope's protesters, mentioning such issues as celibacy, sexual abuse, gay rights, divorce, and the role of women. In the 1144-word story, there was one sentence on the message the pope hoped to deliver. By contrast, Der Spiegel's headline read, "Financial Crisis, Religion and a Bit of Protest." Most of the story was on the pope's message.
In today's Times, the first three paragraphs are mostly devoted to the protesters, and five of the first six paragraphs reflect negatively on the Church. Of the 20 paragraphs in the news story, four mention the pope's message. Der Spiegel has two news stories today, and the way they begin is striking. One says of the pope, "His bluntness has surprised many -- and could transform the visit into a rousing success." The other says, "The pope's highly anticipated speech in Germany's parliament Thursday was met with a standing ovation by politicians...." The standing ovation was not mentioned by the Times, but twice it said "dozens" of members of Parliament boycotted the speech.
None of this is by chance. The Times entertains the most radical views on abortion, feminism and gay rights of any major newspaper in the nation. Moreover, its secularist orientation is pronounced.
Der Spiegel did not give the pope a pass (nor should it), but it nonetheless treated him fairly. The New York Times, by contrast, focused more on the pope's critics, as well as those Church teachings its critics loathe. Are they blind to their bias?
Contact the Times' public editor, Arthur S. Brisbane: public@nytimes.com
