Themediareport.com's Top 10 Posts of 2012 [part I]
The Mediareport
Thank you to everyone for making 2012 the best year ever for TheMediaReport.com – now in its ninth year! Our readership continues to grow dramatically, thanks to you. We are very grateful! We figured we would close out the year with a look at our most compelling posts of the past twelve months. It has been an eventful year! #10 SHOCK STORY: Notorious Church-Suing Lawyer Obtained Clients by Phoning Parishioners and 'Fishing for Victims' A number of observers have long looked with skepticism upon California's high-profile, Church-suing lawyer John Manly. Therefore, it was not surprising to see that Manly openly admitted to Sue Nowicki at The Modesto Bee newspaper that that his office has obtained clients for abuse lawsuits by making unsolicited phone calls to Catholic Church parishioners. The story was a shocker, indeed. #9 Hours Before Cardinal Bevilacqua Passed Away, SNAP's Clohessy Suggested the Cleric Was Faking His Illnesses It is difficult to single out particular episodes from the numerous nasty public displays from the anti-Catholic group SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). However, the organization may have reached a new low point when SNAP National Director David Clohessy suggested that Philadelphia's Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua was somehow faking his cancer and dementia in order to avoid testifying at the high-profile abuse trial in Philadelphia earlier this year. Cardinal Bevilacqua died barely 36 hours after Clohessy made his heartless remark. Not surprisingly, Clohessy – who repeatedly demands apologies from others for alleged events from 20, 30, or 40 years ago – has never publicly apologized to Catholics or to Cardinal Bevilacqua's family. #8 ** SNAP CONFERENCE 2012 EXCLUSIVE ** One Hand Washes the Other: Jeff Anderson, Other Contingency Lawyers Bankroll Church-Bashing Group The media has shown no interest in the issue, but many have long wondered about the financial connection between wealthy contingency lawyers and professional "support" groups like SNAP. TheMediaReport.com clarified the matter when it exclusively reported that the world's top Church-targeting lawyer, Jeff Anderson, wrote a whopping check for $43,950 to SNAP as he enthusiastically orchestrated this year's fundraising session at the group's annual conference in Chicago this past July. #7 National Catholic Reporter Smears Arch. of Los Angeles in Bogus Abuse Story Why let the facts get in the way of a good smear job against the Catholic Church? That was the approach that Josh McElwee at the dissident National Catholic Reporter appeared to take in a reckless and mean-spirited piece in which he falsely suggested that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles somehow knew that a priest it had welcomed from England had been accused of child abuse there. (Note to Josh: The next time that SNAP tries to plant you a story that is so fishy that even the Los Angeles Times won't touch it, take a pass.) #6 ** SNAP CONFERENCE 2012 EXCLUSIVE ** Dissident Priest Doyle Trashes Bishops and Admits He Has 'Nothing To Do With the Catholic Church' One of the media's favorite go-to people to bash the Catholic Church has long been Fr. Tom Doyle, a dissident Dominican priest and celebrity "expert witness" for Church-suing contingency lawyers. Doyle finally revealed his true colors during a Q&A period following his talk at this year's SNAP Conference in Chicago, when he essentially conceded that he is really not even Catholic. Although he said he was still "legally a priest," he freely acknowledged that he has "nothing to do with the Catholic Church" and "nothing to do with the clerical life." However, don't look for the media to report on the real Tom Doyle anytime soon. Don't forget to come back next week for TheMediaReport.com's Top 5 Stories of 2012. Thank you again for a great year!
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