The Church, The Press and Abortion: Catholic Leadership and Public Communication

Abstract

The abortion issue currently exercising the minds and emotions of many Americans is one of the more disturbing moral and political questions of recent U.S. history. This paper addresses the interrelationship of the Catholic Church and the news media in this debate. It is the story of three Catholic bishops, their dioceses and the journalists who cover religious and moral issues in the various media. I will examine how these religious leaders frame their moral teachings for the pulpit and the press. At the same time, l will study the ways in which the media present religious and moral issues in the news. We will see that the interaction of church and media has produced a third dimension-that of theology and politics in the public sphere.