“Vatican shakeup shows why journalists shouldn’t be corporate mouthpieces”

I’d be all set to agree if Greg Burke hadn’t spent the last few years demonstrating that he was more than willing to shill and provide cover for a grossly corrupt regime, and antagonising or ignoring anyone asking awkwardly honest (and obvious) questions.

I’ll say one thing for him though, he certainly gave the world a sterling representation of the value of “conservative” organisations like Opus Dei.

Part of John Allen’s problem understanding this is his problem of inaccurate categories: he uses the definition of “devout Catholics” that the secular world uses.

“[T]o be completely honest, I didn’t find the move “unexpected” at all, since I’ve been anticipating it since the two were appointed in 2016.

The reason is simple: Burke and Garcia Ovejero are, at heart, journalists, and journalists just aren’t meant to be corporate mouthpieces.

Both, of course, are devout Catholics, and so when the Church asked them to serve, they said yes. Yet that’s precisely the point – the Church arguably should have known better than to ask, because both Burke and Garcia Ovejero are more valuable on the outside looking in rather than the other way around.

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