When the Homily is about Immunology

The Media and Religion

All over the news wires this AM is the astonishing story that the Pope claims that the Roman Catholic Church is the one true church. The Orthodox, we are told, are "a church" having valid apostolic succession and sacraments, but are deficient in not acknowledging the supremacy of the Pope.

Ummmm...and this is news to whom, exactly? What person, who claims any knowledge of Christianity or its history, fails to recognize this as THE teaching of the Roman Catholic Church as it ever has been? Why on earth is this being proclaimed as some grand news story....it's as earth shattering and radical as if the Pope had stepped up and proclaimed that Mary is ever-virgin, or any other traditional Catholic teaching. They briefly touch on this point in the article itself, but I sense that perhaps reporters are thinking there is some monumental non-politically correct and intolerant attitude being expressed here that must be gotten out to the public.

Oddly enough, I've yet to seen flying across the news wires a major story about what Allah says in his text about the beliefs of Christians and Jews...let alone the more colorful and "crazed" of his multitudinous spokespersons.

Perhaps tomorrow we'll see another great news story when the various Orthodox Patriarchs say in reply, "Actually the Orthodox Church is the one true Church."