Commentary
Diocesan Newspaper Back to Its Old Negative Ways
For those who still read the Jubilate Deo, there was a bit of deja vu in this month’s edition as one-sided, anti-Church polemics seem to be worming their way back into prominence. Such biased reporting was common when Canon Kendall Harmon first became its editor several years ago, and it appears to be making a comeback under Bishop Lawrence.
In the April/May edition, readers are treated to ridiculously inept coverage of the historic visit of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to the Diocese in February.
Front-page treatment was given to the full text of Bishop Lawrence’s remarks at her meeting with the clergy. Missing, of course, were the comments of the Presiding Bishop. (In fact, the only place the Presiding Bishop was quoted in the entire publication was on page 13 when she told a reception at Bishop Gadsden she was glad to be there.)
Canon Harmon, whose influence in the Diocese probably rivals that of the Bishop, was also awarded front page placement for his one-sided report on the Primate's visit. His report, which similarly failed to tell us anything about what the Presiding Bishop said, relied heavily on grousing from the Rev John Burley of Mount Pleasant … whose words sounded oddly like, well, Canon Harmon’s.
Just for good measure Jubilate Deo also included a piece by St. Michael’s rector, Al Zadig, in which he repeated his controversial comments to the Presiding Bishop at the clergy forum. Of course, the Jubilate Deo failed to include the Presiding Bishop’s very pointed and direct response.
While the Jubilate Deo has never pretended to uphold the highest standards of journalism or even offer a balanced perspective on Church politics, there was hope that Bishop Lawrence would encourage more diverse views and objective reporting on the issues that face the Church. He seems to be a man who would not be threatened by robust debate.
In the months following the controversial 2003 General Convention, Bishop Salmon initially defended the dark and angry tone of the publication. However, as complaints escalated, and parishes reported that members were directing their pledges away from the Diocese, the bitter tone abruptly changed.
For most SC Episcopalians the Jubilate Deo is the most visible activity of the Diocese.
