MSM

a.k.a. the Mainstream Media

and why you shouldn't trust them anymore:

In this article by NCR's Vatican correspondent, John Allen Jr., he makes some startling admissions that reveal as much about the MSM as it does the NCR:

"it seems clear to me that I and most of my colleagues simply over-analyzed this election. We thought in terms of geographical blocks, political interests, and public relations concerns; the cardinals, it seems, just asked themselves who among them was the best man for the job and voted accordingly. The fact that it didn't take them long suggests it did not strike them as an exceptionally difficult judgment to make."

I suppose the major reason I entertained doubts about Ratzinger as a papabile is what might be called the 'baggage' factor. Fairly or unfairly, in some Catholic circles Ratzinger is a lightning rod, a beloved hero among conservatives and something of a Darth Vader figure for Catholic progressives. I wondered if the cardinals would want to elect as pope someone who brought with them that kind of profile."

Every journalist covering the Vatican to some extent reflects the limitations of his or her own nationality and cultural experience, and on this point, in hindsight, I see how much of an American I was. In Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, Ratzinger has no such profile, except in very restricted theological circles. Cardinals from those parts of the world did not bring such concerns."

For all of Allen's apologies, I don't think he goes far enough in discrediting the MSM's competence in their coverage of this Conclave and any news related to Catholicism. Fr. J.C. Maximilian points out a typical screwup so astounding it would make my head spin if it weren't so commonplace. But it does illustrate my point. (continued below)