A degree in journalism is, alas, not an asset if you're applying for a job at Spence Publishing. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus' experience this week answering questions about Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical is the sort of thing that hardens our attitude on this matter:
I’m just off the phone with a reporter from a national paper. He’s doing a story on Pope Benedict’s new encyclical. In the course of discussing the pontificate, I referred to the pope as the bishop of Rome. “That raises an interesting point,” he said. “Is it unusual that this pope is also the bishop of Rome?” He obviously thought he was on to a new angle. I tried to be gentle. Toward the end of our talk, he said with manifest sincerity, “My job is not only to get the story right but to explain what it means.” Ah yes, he is just the fellow to explain what this pontificate and the encyclical really mean. It is poignant.
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