For a different side of World Youth Day.
Bishop Dominique Rey celebrates the Extraordinary Form of Mass for Juventutem Pilgrims in Parrochia de San Francisco de Sales, Madrid, 18 August 2011.
Bishop Dominique Rey celebrates the Extraordinary Form of Mass for Juventutem Pilgrims in Parrochia de San Francisco de Sales, Madrid, 18 August 2011.
Someone has commented on my last post "off topic" complaining about the BBC coverage of World Youth Day. In fact, I spent some time early this morning looking for some clips on the BBC that had made my blood boil on Sunday. As Fr Ray Blake has said, the BBC coverage of World Youth Day was niggardly. Considering that such a fuss is made that we are all now a part of Europe, you would think that major events in other European countries would be given more coverage - especially on BBC World - but not so with anything to do with Catholicism. I've noticed that TV Europe and TV France24 (which I sometimes watch) give far better coverage of things Catholic.
What particularly annoyed me on Sunday was the sycophantic coverage of the Hari Krishna Janmashtami Festival, being staged near Watford, in the extensive house and grounds donated by George Harrison in 1973 for 60,000 people. Robert Pigott interviewed 'His (self-styled) Holiness' Swami Radhanath, from Chicago who was brought up as a Jew but is now a guru and a member of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Mr Pigott was literally bowing and bobbing up and down in front of the guru with a beaming smile on his face, allowing him not to answer questions but to give a homily. All taken at face value and not questioned or interrupted at all in the way that no Catholic bishop or priest would get away with in a BBC interview. (It was this interview I was trying to search on-line for but couldn't find.) In stark contrast, this was immediately followed by an item on the final Mass in Madrid which was very short and underestimated the 1.5 million YOUNG people at the Mass. Both of these events were good news stories but it always seems that any Catholic good news is glossed over and always linked with pejorative wording or tinged with a negative aspect - in the case of Madrid those protesting over the alleged cost to the Spanish state of the papal visit. Mr Pigott constantly addressed the guru as "Your Holiness" but the newsreader covering the World Youth Day Mass could only refer to "The Pope" or "Pope Benedict" not His Holiness, Pope Benedict. The report, which was headlined "Pope meets thousands of Spanish pilgrims (?)" was all focused on the Church trying to "win back its power in Spain" and "recover its losses" as the drive behind World Youth Day. In other words, the usual tainted coverage.
It is another clear case of any culture but our own finding favour. with the liberal elite The BBC seems to conveniently forget (as does the rest of the liberal establishment) that the values they claim to hold dear are in fact rooted in the Catholic Church - although now much distorted with selfishness and relativism. Human rights, the rule of law, equality, education, art, care of the most vulnerable, and science. All these were not quashed by the grim forces of the Catholic Church in the so-called "dark ages" but in fact kept alive to forge the civilization that the Holy Father continues to call Europe back to. Its own foundations which it seems determined to cut out from under its own feet.
What particularly annoyed me on Sunday was the sycophantic coverage of the Hari Krishna Janmashtami Festival, being staged near Watford, in the extensive house and grounds donated by George Harrison in 1973 for 60,000 people. Robert Pigott interviewed 'His (self-styled) Holiness' Swami Radhanath, from Chicago who was brought up as a Jew but is now a guru and a member of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Mr Pigott was literally bowing and bobbing up and down in front of the guru with a beaming smile on his face, allowing him not to answer questions but to give a homily. All taken at face value and not questioned or interrupted at all in the way that no Catholic bishop or priest would get away with in a BBC interview. (It was this interview I was trying to search on-line for but couldn't find.) In stark contrast, this was immediately followed by an item on the final Mass in Madrid which was very short and underestimated the 1.5 million YOUNG people at the Mass. Both of these events were good news stories but it always seems that any Catholic good news is glossed over and always linked with pejorative wording or tinged with a negative aspect - in the case of Madrid those protesting over the alleged cost to the Spanish state of the papal visit. Mr Pigott constantly addressed the guru as "Your Holiness" but the newsreader covering the World Youth Day Mass could only refer to "The Pope" or "Pope Benedict" not His Holiness, Pope Benedict. The report, which was headlined "Pope meets thousands of Spanish pilgrims (?)" was all focused on the Church trying to "win back its power in Spain" and "recover its losses" as the drive behind World Youth Day. In other words, the usual tainted coverage.
It is another clear case of any culture but our own finding favour. with the liberal elite The BBC seems to conveniently forget (as does the rest of the liberal establishment) that the values they claim to hold dear are in fact rooted in the Catholic Church - although now much distorted with selfishness and relativism. Human rights, the rule of law, equality, education, art, care of the most vulnerable, and science. All these were not quashed by the grim forces of the Catholic Church in the so-called "dark ages" but in fact kept alive to forge the civilization that the Holy Father continues to call Europe back to. Its own foundations which it seems determined to cut out from under its own feet.
Well the BBC is not alone, Father. Here in the US there was scant coverage of WYD in the secular media. Where there was mention, it invariably highlighted the protests – which were miniscule in comparison to the crowds of the faithful – but were considered more ‘newsworthy’.
ReplyDeleteHad the New York Times been around circa 33AD, the report most likely would have read: “Massive crowd calls for execution of criminal activist. Roman authorities comply. Hero Barabbas welcomed by cheering multitude. Full report on the festivities on page B12…”
Plus ca change.
It is very easy to make a complaint to the BBC. You can do it on line at:
ReplyDeletewww.bbc.co.uk/complaints/
I hope that thousands will.