The Moonie Times Catechism

This is one of the things I hate about the Moonie Times. This article about the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the Pryor nomination is factually accurate, as far as reporting on what was said during the hearing. But the lead paragraph doesn't contain a single true syllable:

A judicial confirmation hearing yesterday turned into a rancorous debate between Democrats and Republicans over whether it's possible for a devout Catholic to be confirmed to the federal bench.

The debate was about the Republicans' smear of Democratic members as anti-Catholic. Not one Senator spoke for or against the proposition that "it's possible for a devout Catholic to be confirmed to the federal bench." As the Democrats pointed out, it was Whorrin' Hatch who brought up Pryor's religious beliefs. I have no doubt that Hatch brought up the matter in order to appeal to right-wing Catholics, and also to shield Pryor from inquiry into his radical political and legal views.

The sentence is also a lie because, as Senator Richard Durbin, points out, Pryor is a true "cafeteria Catholic." Pryor opposes Church doctrine on the death penalty, and only follows doctrine when it concurs with his political positions.

But it's up to the Catholics to excommunicate Pryor; it's the Senate's job to reject his nomination.