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An Open Letter to Mr. Patrick Purcell, Publisher, The Boston Herald

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Mr. Patrick J. Purcell, Publisher
The Boston Sunday Herald
1 Herald Square
Boston, MA

Dear Mr. Purcell,

I am writing to you out of concern for one of your news stories and your reporters. I have long ago learned not to use the Letters to the Editor column. Research indicates it has just become a forum, not for individual opinion, but for political movements to lobby your readers. The same can be said for the similar column in your competition, the Boston Globe.

First, may I acknowledge that although I have never met your personally, I have learned from others that indeed you call yourself Catholic.

On Saturday March 5, 2006 there was a Catholic Men's Conference in Boston that gathered over 8000 men from the Boston Area. The Speakers addressing this conference included Fr. Ronald Cantelmessa. This priest is the preacher for the Papal Household. His presence alone is newsworthy. Another speaker was a Father Corapi, well known through his work on EWTN, again his presence alone is newsworthy. This is not an exhaustive list of speakers.

Your newspaper staff, when reporting on this conference, noted only one speaker, Sean Forrest. There was no mention of the others and the article couched his words as anti-feminist. The reporter who wrote that article, in collaboration with Boston Herald wire services, is one I have confronted previously. I discovered her byline, in your newspaper, atop what proved to be an article written off a pro-Voice of the Faithful press release to which she made minor cosmetic changes. That article was portrayed as the result of her own work; that was false. She herself admitted she had written it off a press-release. The article dealt with a birthday party for a liberal media darling who is also a pro-gay Catholic priest. The press release was written by those promoting the Voice of the Faithful agenda of which the priest remains a supporter. The problem with that incident is that this means that despite what your newspaper indicated, your journalist did not actually write the article.

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This same journalist took her position at your newspaper to attempt to underreport and trash the good work and efforts of good people helping to build faith in the Catholic Church. She has long lost her credibility because of the incident of slapping her name to a press release and has revealed herself as a propagandist. Yet, so have you.

If it is your position to use your newspaper as a propagandist tool then do not call it a newspaper, call it a propagandist tool. The same can be said for the Boston Globe, but the Globe has long ago revealed itself as a front for "Voice of the Faithful" and Anti-Catholicism on Parade. Indeed, your own columnist Howie Carr describes the Globe as "Gay from top to bottom."

The Boston Sunday Globe, true to its own nature, chose to ignore the story altogether. Your staff did not, but chose to use this opportunity to further propagandize against Catholicism and for the Voice of the Faithful agenda.

This is as much a failure of your duties as publisher as you claim others in the Church to have failed you as well.

May I ask you to either tighten up your standards or sell your newspaper to Jack Chick publications, if it is your wish to make it an Anti-Catholic propagandist scandal sheet. After all, the New York Times already has one of those in Boston. I am sure they would not consider buying the Herald too.

Rev. Robert J. Carr