Randall Terry

By Randall Terry

When 40 or so Catholic organizations filed suit against Obama and his HHS regulations about a month ago, there was virtually no coverage of this fairly significant event. Why? Please hear me out...I have a lot of experience with the media...and I know exactly what happened.

The story was ignored because the bishops did not give the media machine a story – with faces and story lines and quotes and interviews – that was “package-able.”

If Cardinals Dolan and Wuerl had hosted press conferences in NYC and Washington DC, telling the press that they were going to Federal Court, and that they would defy the Obama administrations demands to fund drugs that kill babies, they would have had ENORMOUS coverage. It would have been an international story.

But here is the problem…they would have had to take questions from the press. Mark these words well: the reason that NOT ONE BISHOP that I know of (please correct me if I am wrong) held a press conference is because they would have withered before the questions.

Any journalist worth his salt would have come prepared with a series of questions…that would have led to follow up questions…questions like this:

- “Cardinal Dolan [or Cardinal Wuerl], did you vote for President Obama?”

- “How many bishops would you estimate voted for Obama?”

- “How much does your Diocese receive in federal funds for your various charities? How much has it gone up or down since 2008?”

- “As you know, 55% of Catholics voted for Obama in 2008. Do you want those Catholic voters to vote for President Obama again in 2012, to vote against him, or are you ambivalent?”

- “Why are some bishops refusing to file lawsuits against the HHS regulations? Are they prepared to follow President Obama’s directives?”

- “Has anyone in the Vatican given you direction on how you are to deal with this situation?”

- “Have you spoken to Pope Benedict about this?”

- “Cardinal Dolan, over a year ago, you had a meeting with President Obama, after which you were confident that the HHS regs would be ‘Church friendly.’ Do you feel betrayed? Did President Obama deceive you?”

- [And then we could have had a searing question from a Catholic blogger...something like:] "Are you really prepared to shut down all Catholic Charities? Why not imitate the early Apostles and the defy the HHS order - 'We must obey God rather than man' - and force the federal government to close you down? Don't you think the faithful would rally to your defense?"

How do you think Cardinals Dolan and Wuerl would have done if they faced these questions? Any number of answers they might give would cause severe backlash and turbulence in the pew and the press. And backlash and turbulence for defending the faith is exactly what they want to avoid. And to complicate matters, most other bishops in America would have been called upon to comment on what Dolan or Wuerl said. And at that moment, the lack of cohesion and clarity and courage with Catholic bishops, and the presence of treachery and practical heresy that is rife among them would have been laid bare for the world to see.

This story was mostly ignored – and it is a big story, as you and I both know – because the bishops (especially Dolan and Wuerl) did not have the courage and integrity to face the press, and take tough questions.