The convenient marriage of Al Jazeera, SNAP, and BishopAccountability.org

As reported by Dave Pierre, a Catholic World Report contributor:

According to Al Jazeera opinion writer Rose Aguilar, United States Catholic bishops have been “given a pass on pedophilia” and “widespread child abuse scandals continue to this day.”

What has prompted Aguilar to unleash her venom against the Church? Does it really have anything to do with the awful abuse of children? Not really.

Aguilar does not like the fact that Catholic bishops have forcefully spoken out against the government’s recent attack on religious freedom that attempts to force them to provide contraceptives in health insurance. (Her article is entitled, “The birth control bishops,” if you can stomach it.)

Aguilar realized, however, that she could not attack the Church on her own. So she did what most slippery journalists do when an attack on the Church is in order, and facts and honesty are not all that important.

She went to the angry folks at SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and BishopAccountability.org for support.

Read Pierre’s entire post on his site, www.TheMediaReport.com.

As Pierre indicates, the essay by Agulliar is a wildly skewed and even clueless bit of writing; for example: “The media have a responsibility to explore these issues. Stop giving the USCCB a wide open platform. Why, in a country that prides itself on the separation of church and state, does the USCCB have so much influence in Washington DC, regardless of the party in power?” Ah, yes: the USCCB has a “wide open platform” in the mainstream media (Really? That is news!) and, worse, actually believes that Catholics are citizens of the United States. The horror!


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About Carl E. Olson 1229 Articles
Carl E. Olson is editor of Catholic World Report and Ignatius Insight. He is the author of Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?, Will Catholics Be "Left Behind"?, co-editor/contributor to Called To Be the Children of God, co-author of The Da Vinci Hoax (Ignatius), and author of the "Catholicism" and "Priest Prophet King" Study Guides for Bishop Robert Barron/Word on Fire. His recent books on Lent and Advent—Praying the Our Father in Lent (2021) and Prepare the Way of the Lord (2021)—are published by Catholic Truth Society. He is also a contributor to "Our Sunday Visitor" newspaper, "The Catholic Answer" magazine, "The Imaginative Conservative", "The Catholic Herald", "National Catholic Register", "Chronicles", and other publications. Follow him on Twitter @carleolson.