CNN and an Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching

Irony, anyone?

My piece for CNN on 'The Pope Francis Little Book of Insults' can be read here.

I am grateful to CNN for giving this mostly unemployed but passionate Catholic blogger and occasional writer the opportunity to write a piece for their religion and belief blog.

However, readers will be interested to know that CNN did not offer payment for my services. I was asked to write something and gave them 1,000 words. I'm not sure how long it took me, but it required a bit of thought and took me a good while to write. It was edited down to what it is now, but though I didn't write the piece for pecuniary reward, and its good that hopefully I have raised the profile of Catholic blogs as well as this one, I would like to give CNN a small introduction to Catholic Social Teaching.

There exist four sins crying out to vengeance. Along with sodomy, the oppression of the poor and wilful murder is the sin of denying just wages to the worker. I will concede that CNN never promised me a fee for my article, but it turns out that CNN did not see fit to do so because they do not pay for 'op-eds'. Now, many may say, 'Welcome to the world of journalism, my lad', however, I would posit that I was hired to write a piece, CNN are a gigantic global news network sitting on piles of cash and here am I, a mostly unemployed gent in Brighton, writing for a global multinational company with considerable wealth for free.

Multi-billionaire 'philanthropist', Ted Turner

Not only for my own sake, but for others who may be asked to write an 'op-ed' for CNN, I would suggest that with a company and brand so huge, with profits presumably so high and with such a global corporate brand, the 'policy' set by the chief editors of the corporation might consider paying budding writers for the time and effort they spend on writing for them.

Since then I have done a bit of digging and, as it turns out, CNN's is owned by Time Warner and remains a division of the Turner Broadcasting System, named after death-merchant, Ted Turner, a multi-billionnaire who enjoys pouring chunks of his vast riches into Planned Parenthood and other abortion-industry activities, while encouraging the peoples of the World to stop breeding and have only one or two children (he himself has five) in order to reduce the global population. So, the company was founded by a billionaire eugenicist who still retains considerable influence on the company.

And since I have discovered that CNN's founder, who wields, one can assume, a certain influence on the company, I have decided that in the unlikely event that they wish me to write another piece for them, I would rather not.

Like I say, its good to have my blogs profile and therefore the profile of other Catholic bloggers, priest and lay faithful, raised by a piece on CNN's religion and belief blog, and I'm sure such a privilege will boost the old CV, but exactly where do these enthusiasts for culture of death get off denying a goodwill payment to a mostly unemployed blogger who writes for free nearly all the time in order to spread the Holy Faith of Christ. 

If CNN have any sense of conscience regarding paying those who they hire just wages, something that Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition tells us God takes seriously, then instead of giving it to me, because 'it's just our policy, dude' perhaps their HR department can make a donation to a charity who genuinely care for expectant mothers and their unborn children, The Good Counsel Network who, with a little of Ted Turner's millions could really help a lot of women, families and children.

His Holiness Pope Francis may say some pretty insulting things at times to sections of the Catholic Church, but one thing I have noticed about Pope Francis is his concern that justice be done for workers in the global economy. Obviously, CNN isn't as interested in the message of Pope Francis as it at first appears. Pope Francis is the kind of chap who will make a sandwich for a Swiss guard and have the homeless round for tea. I really don't think Francis is CNN's cup of tea at all!

This one goes out to CNN...I guess this sense of decency in such matters isn't just a Catholic thing. It's an English thing as well...