Sam Alitos nomination to the
Supreme Court has pushed the medias anti-Catholic button, and yet
as the record of Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Catholic, shows, such
anti-religious labeling is unnecessary, said Media Research Center
President Brent Bozell in a statement released today. For instance,
the Associated Presss headline over reporter Rachel Zolls story
reads: Alito Would Tip Court To Catholics. Substitute the word
Jews or Blacks for Catholics and it would spark cries of
outrage.
Likewise, a report by National Public Radios Dahlia Lithwick is
just as insidious, said Bozell. She reported that people are
very, very much talking about the fact that Alito would be the fifth
Catholic on the Supreme Court if confirmed.
The APs biased reporting is clear: Catholic justices Scalia and
Thomas take their religion straight from the pews to the bench. In
fact, Zoll wrote: Two of the Catholics on the current court -
Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas - are abortion foes. Scalia,
whose son Paul is a priest, and Thomas are sometimes seen walking
together to the court after attending Mass on holy days of
obligation. But as Justice Kennedys record of pro-choice rulings
proves, being Catholic is irrelevant to serving on the Supreme
Court.
The only reason anyone in the media would care about whether the
Supreme Court has a majority of Catholics is if they were trying to
make a bigoted connection between the faith certain justices
practice and the job they do on the bench, concluded Bozell. Such
religious bigotry should be condemned, just as Americans have
condemned racism and anti-Semitism.
To schedule an interview with MRC President Brent Bozell or another MRC spokesperson, please contact Tim Scheiderer at 703.683.5004 x. 126.