Thrice-married Rupert Murdoch, who brought Page Three girls to the UK media and whose newspapers attack international aid, is a papal knight.
What do the founder of the paralympics; a UN official who saved thousands of refugees; Jimmy Saville; and Rupert Murdoch have in common? Well, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Francis Martin O’Donnell, the veteran DJ and the media moghul are all Members of the Order of St Gregory the Great, an honour conferred by the Pope.
The poisonous publisher became a Knight Commander of St. Gregory in 1998. The Indepedent reported at the time (via Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion):
“The Roman Catholic church is receiving complaints from worshippers following news that Rupert Murdoch has been awarded a papal knighthood from Pope John Paul II.
“Senior Catholics are said to have been “mystified and astonished” when they heard that the purveyor of newspaper sex, scandal and nudity was made a Knight Commander of St Gregory at a ceremony in Los Angeles last month.
“News of the award was kept out of Mr Murdoch’s British titles – the Sun, the Times, the Sunday Times and the News of the World – at his request, although it is provoking outrage in the religious media and in Ireland, where many Catholics have reacted with anger that Mr Murdoch, who is not a Catholic, appears to have been honoured purely for donating large sums of money to the church”
Oddly enough, the following year he donated $10 million to build a Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles. There was upset in the Church at the time, and now Catholics are calling for Murdoch to be stripped of the title.
On an article on the Catholic Herald titled ‘Debate: should Rupert Murdoch’s papal knighthood be rescinded?’, comments included:
“Murdoch should certainly be stripped of his knighthood. He should never in the first place have been awarded it. Not only does his latest behaviour and that of his company and his son disqualify him, he has been an enemy of anything that passes for decency for years.” – Harper
“He owns an American cable news service called FOX that has more-than-lost its “moral bearings,” especially in the way it has dehumanized Barack Obama not only as a human person but president of the United States.” – Jjkscw
“Murdoch brought the “Page 3 girls” to this land. For this demeaning of women as sexual objects alone, no Catholic should be speaking in his defence” – Editor CT
With forces in the Church of England pushing for the organisation to sell its £9 million in BSkyB and News Corp, the financial and personal losses sustained by Murdoch may begin to mount up.
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33 Responses to “Rupert “page three” Murdoch’s ‘papal knighthood’ shames Catholic church”
Selohesra
You lefties are weird – what is so wrong with seeing a nice pair of baps – it is quite normal and they have appeared in art throughout history – you will even find some in the paintings on the Cistine Chapel. If God gave these girls terrific looks and they chose to appear in tastefull photo shoots then what is so wrong. It is just the dungereed, moustachiod, feminist trolls of the left who really get upset – they could always buy another paper. The Mirror perhaps assuming they approve of hacking into Sven & Ulrika’s private conversations
Rep in the Region
Rupert "page three" Murdoch's 'papal knighthood' shames Catholic church: http://t.co/drpOXEO by @DanielElton #hackgate #NewsCorpse
Brian
This man is the head of an empire that has utterly disgraced itself. So you approve of hacking into the phone of a murdered schoolgirl or the phones of those effected by the war in afghanistan, I’m sure you don’t. Then why hold this man up for praise? It is a scandal that he should have even be considered for a papal knighthood. If you want to look at bare baps, that’s your affair but there’s more to it than that. Grabbing and greed, for instance.
Peter Batley
Rupert Murdoch given 'papal knighthood' by Catholic church: http://t.co/drpOXEO Another 'out of touch' act by the Vatican hierarchy.
scandalousbill
“…what is so wrong with seeing a nice pair of baps… If God gave these girls terrific looks and they chose to appear in tastefull photo shoots then what is so wrong.W
Selohesra, you really do need to get out more.