Okay, I think I’ve posted often enough on the abysmal incompetence of religion reporting to have made my point. (Here, here, and here.) But I’ve been picking unfairly on the wire services, and I couldn’t resist pointing out the telling error made by The New York Times exposed by Hindrocket. In the middle of a lengthy article peppered with drive-by shots at the pope and the Church, the editors let this one paragraph slip past them:

need some quote from supporter

You see, they meant to replace that placeholder with “some quote” from some benighted “supporter,” before launching into their sneering disapproval of the late pope’s “many bad decisions.” They looked and looked, but try as they might, they just couldn’t find a supporter, not a one in all Christendom. (NB to editors: next time this happens, my e-mail address is sean@gleeson.us.)

And just a few minutes ago, I caught a minute or two of “The McLaughlin Group” on public television. The whole panel was saying the most ignorant and asinine things, except for Pat Buchanan, who would have none of it. I confess I haven’t had much use for Buchanan’s political opinions lately, but he was a joy to behold today, a knight in shining armor, persistently explaining why the rest of the panelists were full of it. The transcript isn’t online yet, but when it is, it should be at this link. Try it tomorrow.