NY Times Loses It: Two Front-page Stories and an Editorial for a Suspended Misdemeanor Sentence

By Dave Pierre
Media Report
September 10, 2012

http://www.themediareport.com/2012/09/10/one-misdemeanor-ny-times-finn-case/

New York Times vs. The Catholic Church: Religion Editor Laurie Goodstein, Editorial Page Editor Andrew Rosenthal, Reporter John Eligon

If anyone needed another example of the New York Times' obsession with blasting the Catholic Church, one does not need to look further than the paper's coverage following the guilty verdict of Kansas City–St. Joseph Bishop Robert W. Finn.

One cannot help but wonder when a misdemeanor conviction (with a suspended sentence) has ever resulted in two front-page stories (1, 2) and a breathless editorial in the Grey Lady before.

Indeed, the guilty verdict in the Bishop Finn trial was historic, but a sense of perspective is in order. The diocese delayed in reporting that a priest had lewd photographs of children on his computer. But there is plenty of evidence, either ignored or downplayed by the Times, that Finn took the hit for the failures of the people who worked under him.

Criminal failures

Many in the public are unaware that two computer technicians, a diocesan lawyer, a monsignor, a vice-chancellor, a psychiatric doctor, and a deacon all allegedly saw the disturbing images from Fr. Ratigan's computer, but none of them officially alerted law enforcement.

According to an independent report of the entire Ratigan episode, known as the Graves Report, Bishop Finn stated that he "never saw the images" from the priest's laptop. Indeed, as the Graves Report concluded:

"As soon as the photographs were discovered on Fr. Ratigan's laptop, police should have been formally notified. Although various individuals undoubtedly believed that someone else would make the call, the fact remains that a phone call could have been made by anyone and everyone with knowledge of the pictures."

The failures of Bishop Finn and the diocese are obvious. Under no circumstances can any wrongdoing be defended whatsoever. As the bishop himself stated following his trial, "The protection of children is paramount, and sexual abuse of any kind will not be tolerated." Amen.

Some sex abuse more newsworthy than others

However, while the Times hyperventilates over this misdemeanor conviction, the paper continues to turn a blind eye to massive sex abuse and cover-ups occurring today in our nation's public schools – much of it in its own backyard.

As we have relayed several times before, it has been reported that just in the first three months of 2012 alone in New York City public schools, there were "248 complaints of sexual misconduct involving school employees."

Where's the outrage?

The glaring double standard only shows that the Times' coverage of sex abuse in the Catholic Church has nothing to do with sex abuse and everything to do with plastering the Church for not adhering to the paper's "progressive" secular agenda.