Why are we watching an entire MASS on the News?...MSNBC

is the only network that has figured out that isnt news..

and off button. Watch a soap or game show instead.

that got NO press at all.

www.cafepress.com/showtheworld

Peace.

think airing the statement when they anounce his death is what they are waiting for....not to show the entire MASS

Peace.

I mean it takes 30 seconds for them to update the situation every half an hour. What new information are people getting by watching mass? Actually, less time than that: "He hasn't died yet, we'll tell you when he does."

I mean it's fluff... i am not saying it's not news, but tell us the facts and then move to other news stories.

It's just Catholic liturgy and eulogy.

I want news, not an ethnography of the Catholic religion.

Seems simple enough...

:shrug:

if CNN were showing the Bob Jones nutsos giving a sermon on why they think the Catholic Church is evil and the Pope the Anti-Christ. BOth of them are religious services, so should both of them be shown ad nauseum on the network "news" channels? Somehow I think you'll argue that they are different for various reasons...

It's a very pragmatic solution to the perceived problem.

Just like we should just turn the channel when they bash liberals or Democrats, right? Heaven forbid that we dare to ask that the media actually do their jobs and not shove religious services down our collective throats? There are plenty of legitimate ways in which the news channels could be reporting on the turn of events, but simply being lazy and showing a religious ceremony is not one of them.

Others don't share that opinion, quite obviously.

Doesn't make it so either.

You keep making this ridiculous argument on various threads, but you never actually seem to understand how it's turned back at you and your own opinions. :shrug:

I'm pointing out a fact that people's opinion on this and other subjects differs. How, pray tell, is that 'ridiculous'?

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While you may not care for it, it is quite educational to many who have never witnessed the death of a Pope. It is hardly a crime.

:eyes:

or Michael Jackson? They covered everything ad nauseum. This is no different. And its hardly a reverent broadcast of a mass. They talked over it the entire time. It's filler, and Cable TV is all about filler.

turn on the Catholic Channel.


Make it the top news story, fine. But to go live with a mass when we have been on Popewatch for like 2 years with this.

If it wasn't of interest to most viewers, they would show something else.

Like, hey... carrying a live feed of some mass is damn CHEAP, every minute we fill with this and just some talking heads talking about the Pope is a minute we don't have to pay someone to research and report on real news. Again, I am not saying the Pope's imminent death is NOT news, I am saying to make it THE news and show Catholic liturgy is completely irresponsible. It is not just this, they do it to all news. They are dumbing down the public with this feel-good cotton candy.

Change the channel, if it's such an irritant...

:shrug:

I am not even watching it. I don't watch Fox News but I still have the right to bitch about it.

Answer this question: What do you learn of a Pope's condition by watching a mass given? How is the mass news?

I accept the fact that the pope dying IS news... but how is watching mass news? Answer that.

Many, including myself, have never experienced the death of a Pope. We are therefore receiving information of a unique character firsthand.

http://www.ewtn.com

It's been on every cable system I have ever seen.

I'm not aware of such a channel.

that the real nutty, Fundies must think that when the Pope dies the rapture will occur.

an apostate. His death would mean no more than the death of any other man.

the pope is just a leader of a church group. Nothing more and nothing less. :shrug: It's not like he's Jesus. It is sad but it doesn't effect me personally since I'm not Catholic.

like the fiasco these past two weeks in Florida.

And I'm sure you along with others on this thread will be just as supportive of the "news" channels showing *their* sermons, right?

....like all the folk heir bushitler is slaughtering and torturing, every day.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

Such a statement reflects that you really don't know much about Christianity.

The Rapture is much more of a Fundamentalist Protestant belief. I'm not sure if Catholics believe in it or not, but if they do it is certainly not a central idea.

So, why would Fundamentalists - who don't follow the Pope - believe that his death has anything to do with the Rapture? To Protestants like me, the Pope's death may be a sad thing, but has absolutely no impact on our spiritual lives.

So...when, would you say, would the death of the Pope be unimportant? In 1950 were people less religious then they are now? 1900? 1800? 1600? 1200? When was there not this epidemic of religion? That's like saying there's a 'global epidemic of sex.' There hasn't been a point in human history where there WASN'T an epidemic of sex. Same with religion.

SHOWING A CHURCH SERVICE...WITHOUT ANOUNCING HIS DEATH.....IS NOT NEWS!!!

By what definition would an entire Mass be news? If it is news that the failing Pope is celebrating Mass, a few second clip with the story would be the norm, would it not? I can't imagine any definition of "news" that would encompass broadcasting an entire Mass.

Many of us, myself included, have never witnessed the death of a Pope. It is therefore an opportunity to impart unique information to us.

It is a Mass. They are held every day, many times a day, all over the world. Please explain by what definition an entire Mass is news?

It is part and parcel of the process of a Pope's death.

"news
pl.n. (used with a sing. verb)

1.
a. Information about recent events or happenings, especially as reported by newspapers, periodicals, radio, or television.
b. A presentation of such information, as in a newspaper or on a newscast.
2. New information of any kind: The requirement was news to him.
3. Newsworthy material: “a public figure on a scale unimaginable in America; whatever he did was news” (James Atlas)."

The Pope dying is news. Within that frame, if tha Pope is celebrating Mass, that could be construed as "news" or "newsworthy." (I am having a hard time visualizing the failing Pope standing at an alter or conducting a Mass...?" The Pope ATTENDING a Mass is hardly news. Broadcasting an entire Mass, an event that happens daily all over the world, is NOT news. It may be "educational" (though why a News channell should be educating anyone in the rituals of the Catholic Church seems to me to be a good question), it may be aesthetically beautiful, but it is not "news."

"...2. New information of any kind...."

Have you witnessed the process of a Pope dying, and all that attends it? I haven't, so it is therefore 'news', to me and others similarly situated.

but it is comforting to the millions of Catholics that feel that this day has great significance in their lives. For that, the Pope's mass is being shown. I have over 300 cable channels that I can switch to if I choose. To deny that the death of the leader of the Catholic Church is insignificant, is well, odd....
By the way, I'm not Catholic...I just get it.....

ann arbor

ps. I also watched the news the day Princess Diana died and I'm not British either....

an entire mass is not news.

And I am a Catholic ....

there is no epidemic of sex. Religion, on the other hand, is the practice of following superstitious beliefs. Yes, as far as history has been recorded, people have lived by superstition, a natural response to the questions of existence and relationships. When that practice reaches the level of annihilation as it did for example on Easter Island when the Islanders cut down all trees to make room for more religious statues, it could be called a from of mental sickness.
All of the Easter Islanders died.


The rampant flood of religious fundamentalism, particularly among Christian, Muslim and Jewish sects and the overthrow of the American Govt. with the help of fascist elements has brought civilization to the brink of extermination for reasons too numerous to list here.

I believe that to be an epidemic and suggest that standard practices of epidemiology should be brought to bear to stop the continued spread of what I believe to be a fatal disease.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

"Global epidemic of religiosity"

I'll use that if you don't mind.

those who are basing their lives on superstition, that is values derived from imaginary sources, are to a degree mentally impaired. They are sick and when this is carried to extremes is fatal. Further, while it isn't a physical virus, the disease is contagious. It's understandable that at the dawn of mankind, they turned to religion for answers. Their knowledge about the Universe and their role in it were very limited.

Today, we still face many of the same fundamental problems that worried our ancient ancestors. Yet, we do know enough about the Natural world to be able to live quality lives without killing each other and to manage the Earth's resources with some respect and prudence. The idea that somehow Nature was created and maintained all of these billions of years just in preparation for the arrival of mankind, a few thousand years ago is no less than lunacy. That "human-centric" concept must be abandoned immediately before its too late.

people are unsurprisingly interested in it--everything related to it. This will likely be the final Mass of his papacy.

going to affect a lot of people. Religious believers and non believers alike. It is far closer to news than Michael Jackson in my opinion. :hi:

something which, supposedly, doesn't affect them. Positive or negative, it's affecting a lot of people. :hi:

Why do I have to be affected by something to post about it?

:hi:

the rituals of diversely beautiful beliefs ... it's about our human community ...
O8)

snorky aside: BTW, since when were the cable channels "news" anyway??

oh i thought you were SERIOUS at first. SNORT. my bad. :P :hi:

As a non practicing Catholic, I have been truly disgusted with the direction the religion has taken. I am ashamed of the radicals and the hatred they spew.

This mass is in direct contrast to the fake Christians we have seen outside the Schiavo hospice. In my opinion, what we are seeing is what Christianity should be. I would love to leave this world with an outpouring of love, music and prayer from my loved ones instead of hate.

I hope that those crazed fanatics are watching and feeling extremely embarrassed. Probably not, but I can only hope.

that being a christian is a GOOD thing if the beiefs of Jesus are practiced....and hate is not preached. It's a hard subject to explain to my kids

That is the question.

only one-third of the United States is Catholic. I can't imagine why they would keep showing the whole Mass. I don't mean to disrespect the Pontiff, and I'm sad that he's dying, but there's no need to show a whole service on the news. I wonder what's going on in Iraq these days?

Hmmm. Who would have thought that ONLY one third of the US population constituted such an insignificant minority that it doesn't warrant news coverage. Hell, African Americans are less than 15% of the population, so why should we air coverage of their leader's death?

The Mass and coverage of the Pope's death is extremely newsworthy and important to millions of people. The Pope was a very influential world leader in both politics and social issues. To say otherwise is to show ignorance or the most extreme denial to shore up your dislike of the Pope and his coverage.

"To say otherwise is to show ignorance or the most extreme denial to shore up your dislike of the Pope and his coverage.

I said that I respected the Pontiff. I am a devout Methodist myself. My point was the coverage is over the top. I hope that clarified things.

...after all, the head of the Church, even if we are Protestant or Orthodox Christians, is passing from this world.

This Pope, with all his warts, has stood in opposition to the BFEE. He knows quite well who they are. I shudder to think what may follow. God save us all.

They are duty-bound to give the impression that "Life" is what is most important to them & bombard us with that mystical mush of pie-in-the-sky solutions to DIVERT attention from the world-wide affronts they actually represent. It's called propoganda!

the Pope is a great man. However, I also wondered why they were showing Mass. I turned to a different station. I think covering the pope's impending death gives the stations a reason for not covering other important stories like the WMD report or the continued genocide in Sudan.

The American media is dead! It died during the corporate takeover. Although the death of a pope is important, they have become of a single-tracked mind and are unable to process more than one real story at a time. To me, this is no different than the CONSTANT media blitz on the Schivo tragedy or the Jackson trial. Media news outlets are no more than entertainment now. All scandals, all death, all the time! Very sad.

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The Church very much has (and is) doing something.

http://www.dio.org/victims/index.php?title=Victim Assistance Program&file=program

in the world. It's an uninformed opinion that is selective at best in it's ubiquitous appeals to "facts" and "reason," but nonetheless prevalent among some, and on DU in particular.

Diana's funeral and a couple of weeks later for Mother Teresa. Oh, and let's not forget the O. J. trial.

Any distraction from the serious problems facing the world today is what will be shown non-stop.

Last week it was all Terri all the time, this week it will be all Papacy all the time until something else happens that is interesting but has limited effect on the serious problems facing our lives.

Why does this bother you? I have 325 channels. If MSNBC wants to show a mass, God bless them. I can watch it or flip to "Pimp My Ride."