Christianity, ethics and journalism: An anti-sermon on Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday and I feel like giving an anti-sermon on religion. I’m one of those heartless media types that thinks the Pope and the Catholic Church should be given “Hell” over allegations of child abuse going back 50 years.

On March 10, the chief exorcist of the Vatican, the Rev. Gabriele Amorth (who has held this demanding post for 25 years), was quoted as saying that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican,” and that “when one speaks of ‘the smoke of Satan’ in the holy rooms, it is all true—including these latest stories of violence and pedophilia.” This can perhaps be taken as confirmation that something horrible has indeed been going on in the holy precincts, though most inquiries show it to have a perfectly good material explanation. [The great Catholic cover-up]

I agree with the eminent jurist Geoffrey Robertson that the Pope should be put on trial for covering up systematic child abuse that amounts to a crime against humanity.

Well may the pope defy “the petty gossip of dominant opinion“. But the Holy See can no longer ignore international law, which now counts the widespread or systematic sexual abuse of children as a crime against humanity. The anomalous claim of the Vatican to be a state – and of the pope to be a head of state and hence immune from legal action – cannot stand up to scrutiny. [Put the Pope in the dock]

But my real inspiration today is a couple of nice lines in Rosemary McLeod’s  “Easter” column in the Sunday Star Times, and a point that’s worth challenging.

This is quite good:

I’d guess that most journalists have barely had a Christian upbringing, have scant religious knowledge in general.

It might or might not be true. Certainly in my experience, there’s no shortage of Christian students in my journalism class; they’re probably in a slightly higher proportion than the gay and lesbian students and there might even be the occasional overlap between these cohorts. I’ve usually had more Christians than Muslims (for example) in my tutorials.

On the general point though I think Rosemary is right. Journalists tend to be cynical, hard-bitten and to swing along the spectrum from agnostic to atheist to humanist.

Come back Lara: “Where the bloody Hell are ya…?”

Talk about a beat-up.

LARA Bingle is front-page news in New Zealand, where reports she is dating a high-profile Kiwi cricket star have sent her celebrity agent into damage control. [Herald-Sun 2 April 2010]

The ‘front-page’ in question is the Truth Weekender. I can’t help wonder if it wasn’t an April Fool’s Day joke on the part of the cheeky tabloid’s editor.

A bikini-clad Bingle, whose engagement to Clarke ended three weeks ago, was splashed across the front page of the Truth Weekender. A headline inside screamed: “AD A BOY! Parore scores a single Bingle.”

Adam Parore and Lara Bingle an item? Whatever, the Australian media – at least Murdoch’s tabloids – have picked up the story, even though everyone concerned is actually denying it.

No doubt the paps will be out in force for the Sydney wedding of Chris Cairns and Melanie Crosier today; let’s see if they get the Bing-fling money shot or not.

Free Peter Bethune – stop whaling too

OK, John Key: What are you going to do about Peter Bethune?

The Australian Green Party leader Bob Brown has called your government “spineless” for not doing anything to secure Peter Bethune’s release from a Japanese jail.

And it’s true Mr Key, spineless is only half of it. Your government is also caving in to pressure from the whaling nations to tone down global demands to stop the barbaric practice.

As the Sea Shepherd organisation says, Peter Bethune is a political prisoner. If he was being held by the North Koreans, or Chinese perhaps you might have been a little braver in your response.

The charges against Peter Bethune are ridiculous and so too is the fact that the Japanese government has not properly investigated the sinking of Bethune’s ship the Ady Gil, which was deliberately rammed by a whaling vessel.

[NZ Herald 2/4/10]

Peter Bethune could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted of assault and “business obstruction”. That’s almost as disgusting as the harpooning of whales for “research” purposes.

Peter Bethune was entitled to serve citizen’s arrest papers on the captain of the Japanese vessel that sank the Ady Gil. This is what he was doing when he was detained and transported back to Japan. [Sea Shepherd]

Sign the online petition calling for Peter Bethune to be released.

Let’s not get too hysterical over Hide/Hitler cartoon

Oh, the outrage. Oh, the horror. Oh, the insensitivity of that beastly man.

Poor old Andrew Williams can’t take a trick at the moment.

First, a quite moment of reflection in a leafy North Shore grotto leads to a front page splash and Rottweiler Rodney’s calls for a dumping.

Comes with useful female attachment

Perhaps if Wee Willie had one of these handy portable urinals with him, he would have been safe from the prying eyes of the SST.

Then a cartoon posted to the mayor’s Facebook page causes an even greater outpouring of angst and hand-wringing among people who should know better.

Whaleoil describes the actions of the North Shore mayor as “filthy” and “foul beyond belief”.

Rottweiller Rodney "Doh! Fuhrer?"

A little OTT IMHO.

Let’s not get too hysterical here.

Some perspective is required; rather than just a Wee Willie gangbang. For a start, Williams posted the image (he says) after it was sent to him by a supporter.

Robert Capa’s “falling soldier” in the news again

“For years, doubts have persisted over the authenticity of the iconic Robert Capa photo “Falling Soldier,” taken during what conflict? A: Spanish Civil War, B: Korean War, C: Cuban Revolution, D: World War I.”

Millions of Americans received a history lesson last night when this question was asked of a contestant on the US version of “Who wants to be a millionaire?”

It was the $25,000 question and the contestant, waitress Kelly Norton, bombed. According to a news report on the Philedelphia Inquirer‘s  Philly.com website, Norton asked the studio audience and used a double-dip lifeline, first guessing D and then B.

Bad luck Kelly, you should have checked out Ethical Martini before going on air. I could have helped you out and, who knows, we might have had a shot at the big time.

Why am I posting about this?

Good question.

The simple answer is that EM has gone feral today with hundreds of hits on my various posts about Robert Capa’s famous image. I always like to know where spikes in my traffic are coming from and after an hour or so of searching I finally saw the Philly.com piece. I’m assuming that folk who watched WWTBAM? are this morning (US time) googling like mad to catch up on the Spanish Civil War.

New flash dudes, it was over 75 years ago.

Is it interesting that she asked the audience and still couldn’t pick the right answer. Don’t the learn anything about the Spanish Civil War in American high schools? I know, I know, silly question.

I’m firmly of the view that the iconic “falling soldier” was staged by Capa. Most probably it was done as a crude propaganda stunt as Capa was politically aligned with the Spanish republicans and against the Fascist forces of General Franco.

I also think it’s a quiet little joke that Capa’s photo was used on a “Dancing with the stars-themed” game show. The line between reality and reality television is already blurred for so many people that the whole absurdist idea of theming a game show around another stupid celebrity overloaded game show seems like common sense.

How cruel to make a waitress from Valley Forge answer a question about a controversy in the arcane realm of photojournalism.

Norton walked way with an easy five-grand and I guess that’s a lot of tequila shots in most Philly bars.

Falling man - reality? Not so much

1st EM post on Capa

Does the evidence stack up?

An interesting view of Capa’s falling soldier

Capa’s Mexican suitcase[s]

“Staged” Yeah, we know

Picking on Capa