Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, last seen defending himself in a child sex abuse scandal, now cautions his flock not to pay any attention to those dastardly people at the National Catholic Reporter (NCR). NCR, a liberal Catholic newspaper, has its headquarters in Kansas City.
In the last months I have been deluged with emails and other correspondence from Catholics concerned about the editorial stances of the Reporter: officially condemning Church teaching on the ordination of women, insistent undermining of Church teaching on artificial contraception and sexual morality in general, lionizing dissident theologies while rejecting established Magisterial teaching, and a litany of other issues.
Some of that is even true. NCR has openly endorsed the ordination of women. They have probably undermined church teaching on artificial contraception as well, though I have no direct knowledge of it. Finn shouldn't want to go there. Church teaching on artificial contraception is already rejected by 80% of Roman Catholics anyway.
National Catholic Reporter is certainly not a cheerleader for the bishops, which is what "rejecting established Magisterial teaching" means. As for sexual morality, I doubt that NCR has done more to undermine sexual morality than the bishops have.
NCR also hosts the world's foremost Vatican journalist, John Allen, one of its better public theologians, Richard McBrien, and one of its most well-known advocates of social justice, Joan Chittister. They are three among many reasons that many Catholics would be more likely to take the word of NCR than that of many bishops.
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