The Vatican’s decision to allow priests to bless couples in what they called “irregular relationships” continues to get lots of media attention.
The language in this confusing decree, issued last month, included individuals in same-sex relationships, which unleashed a flurry of news coverage. The issue was kept alive in the news after bishops — primarily from Africa — pushed back. That forced the Vatican to issue a clarification last week aimed at quelling dissent.
Journalists working on this story have largely done a poor job in quoting diverse views about this topic from the very men who are supposed to bestow such blessings — priests. I did that very thing on Jan. 4 at Religion Unplugged, where I serve as executive editor, when the Vatican issued a news release to clarify their original declaration. Here’s what I wrote for those of you who need a refresher:
Three weeks after announcing that Catholic priests could bless individuals in same-sex relationships, the Vatican published a clarification … following backlash — and even widespread confusion in many cases — from prelates across the world.
The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said in a news release that it wanted to “help clarify” the many reactions to Fiducia Supplicans, a decree issued on Dec. 18. In it, the Vatican urged a “full and calm reading” of the entire document to better understand “its meaning and purpose.”
The original decree had been signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernandez, who serves as the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Dec. 18 document, the Vatican said, was “clear and definitive” in regards to Catholic doctrine regarding church teaching on marriage and sexuality. Again, the Vatican said any blessings are for individuals — not the union — and must not be “liturgical or ritualized.”
“Evidently, there is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally from this declaration or to consider it heretical, contrary to the tradition of the church or blasphemous,” the latest statement added.
Quite of few bishops, especially in Africa, were doing quite a bit of explicit doctrinal distancing, if not outright slamming. That’s a newsworthy development, for sure.
Two days later, Pope Francis addressed the divisions in the church on this issue and others. This is what Crux reported and note, once again, the interesting use of the term “ideologies.”
ROME — Pope Francis on the feast of the Epiphany lamented the sharp division among Catholics of differing views, saying believers must imitate the three wise men in putting God at the center of their lives, rather than their own ideas of the faith.
Speaking to attendees of his Jan. 6 Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope said that as members of the church, “instead of splitting into groups based on our own ideas, we are called to put God back at the center.”
“We need to abandon ecclesial ideologies to find the meaning of holy mother church, the ecclesial attitude. Ecclesial ideologies no, ecclesial vocation yes,” he said, saying, “The Lord, not our own ideas or our own projects,” must be the focus. …
The pontiff’s comments came amid a burgeoning controversy over a recent Vatican declaration permitting non-liturgical blessings of same-sex unions, which has revealed strong divisions within Catholicism.
For American reporters, a reaction piece to the pope’s comments is easy to do. It’s true that in this case the mainstream media often gravitates towards the Rev. James Martin, the most-outspoken and oft-quoted priest regarding ministering to LGBTQ Catholics. He is a go-to guy whenever journalists need a quote on such issues.
The New York Times even did a feature story on Martin blessing a same-sex couple just days after the Dec. 18 Vatican declaration. As tmatt noted here at GetReligion (“Fiducia Supplicans news flashback: 5-star case of the medium being the message”), a photo from that rite went viral on social media and helped establish a framework for most of the mainstream news coverage.
But Martin isn’t the only priest out there to quote (even in New York City). Reporters used to actually leave their newsrooms and walk over to a local church to interview a priest. Those days are largely over for a number of reasons. Newsrooms have gotten smaller in the digital age.
This recent X post is a great reminder to all Catholics that you aren’t limited by geography when it comes to your faith. The same holds true for reporters seeking diverse voices in their news coverage.
The remaining reporters are expected to write more stories. There just isn’t time to go out and do what used to be called “shoe-leather reporting.” The name of the game is posting stories quickly and getting clicks while topics are trending on social media.
The reading public is poorer for it. As a result, people like Martin are easy to quote over the phone or through a social media post. His views on many hot-button church issues also are popular with leaders in elite newsrooms.
But the internet is loaded with priests who are active on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, and even on YouTube. They range from a myriad of doctrine voices and would be great to quote or reach by with email or phone.
There are dozens of priests on the internet. Here are three worth highlighting with plenty of insight that reporters should be quoting in their news coverage this year:
(1) Father Joe Krupp
A podcaster who is active on both X and Facebook, Krupp had some great insights into the same-sex blessing kerfuffle. He is a former student minister at Michigan State University and frequently discusses issues in mass media and public life. He is quotable and funny, even when talking about complex issues in church history and theology.
Krupp’s podcast, easily found on X, is a must-listen whenever something big happens out of Rome, since he strives to speak directly to the laity as a candid pastor.
(2) Father Michael O’Connor
Pastor of Our Lady of the Gulf parish in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi — like many priests — likes to post his homily to Facebook. This is another great source of commentary and information for reporters seeking reaction to big announcements from Rome.
In fact, O’Connor openly claimed that news headlines had generated “a lot of confusion” regarding Catholic teaching on informal blessing prayers.
This is what else he said:
“The blessing is not an approval of any kind of same-sex relationship at … but it’s supposed to be an aid to conversation. That is not going to be reported to you by The New York Times, OK?”
(3) Father Mark Goring
Based in Canada, Goring hosts a popular YouTube channel and he posts regularly on topics that matter to the church and Catholics.
This is what he said in a recent post regarding the blessings following the Vatican’s clarification last week:
“I’m happy to see the African bishops speak up, against the compromise that’s happening in the Western church. And, to me, this is excellent dialogue. … If I were to grade this, I would give [Cardinal Victor Fernandez] an A-plus.”
I quoted both O’Connor and Goring in my news coverage last week because diverse viewpoints are helpful to readers who need to know what is happening and why this all matters.
There are over 37,000 priests in the United States alone. In other words, there’s no shortage of people to quote. News coverage of Catholic issues is better served when multiple priests are quoted.
The Internet is an easy place to find these voices. While technology has made many journalists lazy, it can also be an appropriate research aid when working on close deadlines. Reporters just need to know where to look and who to look for when seeking these voices.
FIRST IMAGE: Photo of a Catholic priest provided by Unsplash.