Does the Vatican Have a Bureau of Spin Control?

Published on by D. G. Hart

John Allen thinks Rome might need one.

First, there’s a growing tendency in the Catholic blogosphere to grouse that Francis is becoming more myth than man, that a cluster of urban legends are growing up that threaten to turn the pope into what one Italian blogger recently called “a cartoon strip for kids.” The danger, as some of these commentators see it, is that important aspects of the pope’s character and message, such as his repeated warnings about the devil and the “spirits of this world,” are being obscured.

Of course, there’s always a risk of selective emphasis and myth-making when the media decides to turn someone into a celebrity, but I would put the situation this way: Isn’t it better that people are paying attention than not?

Surely deciding what to do with a massive global megaphone is a better problem than wondering how to get that megaphone in the first place.

Second, we’re probably in for a long run of pope storylines that are going to burst on the world like a spring thunderstorm, and some of them, like his alleged nocturnal outings, are likely to be bunk, rooted in misunderstandings or in breathless leaps to premature conclusions. The old rule of caveat emptor, therefore, will be more critical than ever.

Actually, this dynamic may offer a new lease on life to Catholic journalists everywhere, some of whom are feeling a bit disoriented at the way the general-interest media has sort of ripped the pope story away from them. Insiders no longer may have a monopoly on the beat, but they may be able to rebrand as the go-to destination for rumor control.

Third, there’s a sense in which the media ferment amounts to a virtual application of Francis’ memorable line from Evangelii Gaudium: “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.”

By injecting himself so thoroughly into the 21st-century media culture, Francis runs the risk of seeing his image distorted, obscured and occasionally caricatured. From his point of view, however, that’s preferable to staying out of the fray — because the fray, after all, is where real people live.

I can see many a celebrity Protestant pastor thinking the very thing. Access is better than not access. But fame turns to fad. The grass withers. Shepherds are not celebrities.

13 thoughts on “Does the Vatican Have a Bureau of Spin Control?”

  6. Leave my pope alone. After I’ve had to put up with all the mouth breathing, D&D playing, star trek watching, prot converts reinventing the faith of my yute on the back of an aristocratic German who was in it for the trappings of monarchy, I rather enjoying knowing what Francis is going to do, say and be before he does it.

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  7. I think it is entirely possible that Rome has themselves a truly first class Pope and this is more than a flash in the pan. Vatican II was very popular with mainstream Catholics. It wasn’t popular with conservatives. For 50 years Catholics have been living with a hierarchy in reaction against Vatican II. A hierarchy publishing moral positions they not only disagree with but find immoral. Catholics love their church and consider the hierarchy an important part of their church. But that doesn’t change the fact that they don’t approve of the way the hierarchy has been behaving.

    Benedict XVI’s election was a slap in the face to liberals and moderates. The message of Benedict XVI’s election to them was “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”. He’s was like the Justice Scalia of the college of cardinals. Liberal Catholics just wanted to pretend he didn’t exist as much as they could. The idea of using a term of love “Pope” (papa) for that man stuck in their throat. They could respect him as a political leader, but loving him was a challenge. The church is getting to experience what picking a candidate who has support from the left and cares about their issues is like.

    I don’t see any reason that Pope Francis can’t fix that problem and continue what started with Vatican II. There are lots and lots of deep structural problems in the Catholic church that are causing their membership to have a low moral. A decade of real change is going to be met enthusiastically.

    Take for example the child sex abuse scandal. A fully open truth and reconciliation commission, who did what to whom and why… If there are bishops and cardinals who think they did the right thing, if they are still alive or when the investigations were going on let’s hear what they said. If officials destroyed documents and lied to DAs investigating let’s have the church just say that and say why, that statute of limitations on obstruction of justice has passed. And even better have them explain why they did it. Can you imagine how cleansing it would be to have the the whole truth and be done with this? Otherwise this comes up for a century.

    Or to pick another example, divorce. The church used to have a very harsh anti-diverce doctrine where most divorced people essentially had no practical choice but apostasy. They’ve lessened that, through a hypocritical policy of annulments that no one respects. A Pope Francis could honestly address this issue which really does diminish the church.

    The left 80% of the Catholic church has hope again. And they haven’t for a long time. I don’t think that’s bad.

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  10. Sean, I leave your pope alone, when I stop getting teased for being a trekkie (ie never, and it’s the way things should be). By the way, the wiki article about ‘star trek canon’ is a good read. Although I’m more of a purist, and won’t concede the last two movies were canonical. The big Roddenbery himself seems to be on my side here (read the post for yourself) but I actually don’t want to open that can of worms (i would live to regret, for sure..)

    Enjoy your dad, righteous bro!

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  12. What would a first class Pope do, CD-Atheist-Host? Canonize Madalyn Murray O’Hair? Join Penn & Teller’s magic act?

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  13. Is that a picture of Kathleen Turner about 15 years after The War of the Roses?

    When did the fake British accent enter her life?

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