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	From the Editor: Covering the Pope Important " " and Delicate " " Work for a Newspaper By Bob Unger Standard-Times April 27, 2008 http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/OPINION/804270309 Everyone knows you don't talk about sex, politics or religion at the dinner table unless you want to risk a food fight. It's probably good advice for popes and for newspapers — although a food fight isn't always the worst thing that can happen. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI made his first visit to the United States and, despite predictions that he would try to largely steer the conversation away from the clergy sex abuse scandal that has roiled the American church for nearly a decade, he talked about the problem directly and repeatedly, met with victims of that abuse and expressed his shame and sorrow over the church's failures. He has shown himself to be unafraid to speak forthrightly on politically incorrect topics, including the basic goodness of the United States at a time when to hate America is so much in vogue almost everywhere, and his challenge to the spiritual and philosophical leaders of international Islam to teach Muslims that violence against Christians and Jews, not to mention other Muslim sects, is evil. As the leader of the world's Roman Catholics, Pope Benedict, like every pope, is more than a spiritual leader. He is a political force, too. Those looking to find the person most responsible for the fall of the old Soviet Union can look to Rome and Pope John Paul II even more than to Washington and President Ronald Reagan. Those qualities are exactly what makes it most difficult for news organizations looking to cover and offer editorial commentary on the pontiff. That was most certainly the case for The Standard-Times, which covered the pope's visit extensively. We interviewed local Catholics and clergy, and received helpful background information from the Rev. Roger Landry of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, in advance of the pope's arrival, about what message he would bring to Catholics. We published wire service reports about what the pope hoped to accomplish, and photographs of some of those protesting Vatican policies. We interviewed local people who traveled to New York for Pope Benedict's Mass at Yankee Stadium. We published interviews with Cardinal Sean O'Malley about the pope's visit with abuse victims and published Page 1 photos and stories about his meeting with American youths, and we interviewed a young woman from Wareham who was going to hear the pope. We wrote an editorial about the moral influence of the pope in the modern world. Of course, not everyone was pleased with everything we did. Several readers were angry about our publishing an Associated Press photograph of a solitary protester holding a sign that said, "Catholic priests are predators." "You don't know my priest," one woman called to say, her voice catching with tears. "You don't know what a wonderful person he is." I don't blame her for being upset. If the sign had said "some" priests, it would have been different. But all priests? Well, that's not any different from publishing a photo of someone holding a sign saying, "Jewish lawyers are crooks" or "Black men are criminals." Such generalizations are unfair at best, and they do hurt. In addition, we published an editorial cartoon with the following text: "For the first 1,000 years after Jesus, priests could marry. Wouldn't allowing it again solve the pedophilia problem? Let's bounce this idea off the pope ..." The cartoon shows a question mark bonking the pope on the head. He responds, "Hah! I didn't even blink!" Now, many people, including Roman Catholics, have questioned whether priestly celibacy is a good idea, and the issue is entirely appropriate for the editorial page of the local newspaper in a heavily Catholic community that is affected directly by the clergy abuse scandal. However, images — photographs and cartoons — pack emotional as well as intellectual punch, and lots of readers were angry that we published the cartoon. "If this bashing continues," wrote a New Bedford woman, "count me out as your customer. ...This is MY opinion." We received eight or 10 telephone and written complaints about our decision to publish the cartoon. We accept the criticism, but we also hope that our critics look at the entire range of the coverage that we provided of this important visit by Pope Benedict. Further, we hope they acknowledge that it would not be fitting for a secular news organization such as The Standard-Times to celebrate the pope's visit in the same manner as Catholic worshipers, but instead to treat the pope as a major news figure who leads both a political and religious entity of great power and influence. That means extensive coverage on the part of the newspaper — as well as editorial commentary praising or even criticizing in respectful fashion. Bob Unger is editor of The Standard-Times. He can be reached by e-mail at runger@s-t.com or by phone at (508) 542-1252.
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