No, the Pope did not endorse a gay-friendly children's book
By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Aug 28, 2015
The Guardian headline is an eye-catcher:
Pope Francis sends letter praising gay children's book
Wow! That’s newsworthy material for sure, isn’t it? Let’s take a closer look.
Did the Pope write the letter in question? No.
Did the letter praise the book? No.
So what’s the real story? There is none. But don’t expect that fact to stem the tide of inaccurate reports, flowing through the mass media, following the Guardian’s lead.
Here’s the reality: An author whose books are sympathetic toward same-sex partnerships wrote to Pope Francis. She received a polite reply from a Vatican official. That’s the whole story, and if you have trouble thinking of an appropriate headline, maybe it’s because there’s nothing worth reporting.
Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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