Religious Group Proposes Censorship

Claims Cure for Social Woes

by Tom Gaspar
Massachusetts Catholic Inquisitor

"Freedom of the Press" has long been a right that Americans have held up as being necessary for a free and democratic society. Especially in the realm of politics, knowledge is power, and most Americans realize that if one faction controlled the media, the knowledge/power factor would be skewed. But according to Deacon Leopold Frapinger, there should be no balance when it comes to Christian morality.

"If the Catholic Church holds the fullest measure of God's Truth," said the Deacon at a recent press conference, "then why should we tolerate the dissemination of half-truths or flat-out lies?"

Dcn. Frapinger is founder and lead spokesperson for a controversial group whose slogan has become their name: Promote Religion Over Press Association Gibberish And Negate Dissident Agendas. Members of PROPAGANDA stand firm on their belief that "freedom of the press" has gone too far. According to the group's Web site, the major news outlets "have devolved into little more than political pulpits for puerile pundits promoting pluralism and pedaling pornography!"

All alliteration aside, the group has come under fire recently for threatening lawsuits against smaller, independent news outlets. Foremost among the group's critics is Dr. David Gilman, a professor at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. "This PROPAGANDA is not out to help America," said Dr. Gilman. "It's just misinformation by a different name."

But Dcn. Frapinger defends his group's decision to take what some call questionable legal action. "We have to change 200 years of legal precedent," said Frapinger. "Even though God is on our side, we can't take on the Crappy News Network or the Abysmal Broadcasting Company without a string of smaller victories first."

PROPAGANDA literature explains that people believe what they see on television, read in the newspaper, hear on the radio, and experience online -- regardless of the source or substance -- so all of those channels must be moderated. "The American public is ignorant," said Frapinger. "In fact, a good percentage of them are just flat-out stupid. They'll believe anything they're told, so it's up to the more intelligent folks to make sure that these people only hear the truth."

If Dcn. Frapinger had his way, the only news Americans would have access to would either be directly from PROPAGANDA or approved by them. "You can call it censorship if you want," said Frapinger. "But we understand that it's actually a cure for many of society's problems. Some people just don't like to take their medicine."

The United States Council of Catholic Bishops has yet to release an official statement regarding PROPAGANDA. However, the USCCB's 1999 publication, "Insights And Answers On Media Bias", doesn't promote the idea of censorship or even mention the idea of taking legal action as a means to correct such instances of media bias. From a true Catholic perspective, PROPAGANDA doesn't appear to be the way to go.

Copyright 2005-2008 by Brandon Jubar
All rights reserved.