English bishop denies media bias, says Church deserves criticism over abuse scandals

CWN - March 16, 2010

Denying that the Church is a victim of media bias, Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton has told The London Times that criticism of the Church’s handling of the clerical abuse scandal is well deserved.

“The Roman Catholic Church sets itself up to be the great moral authority,” he said. “When it does fail its own rigid standards, it deserves to be attacked and criticized.”

“I think what we will find is the number of cases will grow,” he added. “We can’t pretend it is something we can ignore or dismiss. The Church is one of the great moral champions in terms of its own rigid moral codes. When it fails it deserves to get hit.”

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Progress toward our June expenses ($13,107 to go):
$30,000.00 $16,892.93
44% 56%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 1 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: Gil125 - Mar. 16, 2010 3:35 PM ET USA

    The bishop is, of course, right that his peers have been remiss in this for decades, and that they deserve to be hit. But that doesn't mean the press is not biased against them, too.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Thankfully, electing a pope is not like electing a president. 4 hours ago
Excellent critique of bias in New York Times abortion coverage 5 hours ago
Pope Francis the Frank June 18
“Illegals” are not “Immorals”: A Persistent Immigration Fallacy June 18
News coverage of the Vatican: the blind leading the blind June 18

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Vatican document demands governments protect refugees CWN - June 6
Pope acknowledges 'gay lobby' influence in Vatican CWN - June 11
Pope confirms he is completing encyclical on faith begun by Benedict XVI CWN - June 13