WAS: What Adults are Saying on Awaiting the Murrow Moment
Anticipating a journalist "savior" might it be coming from a church?
Journalism history has long pointed to Edward R. Murrow’s stunning expose of Joe McCarthy as a key turning point that helped kill the nauseous politics invented by that Wisconsin Senator. It has long been regarded as textbook example of how journalism and all its “free press” protections can purely occupy its lauded “fourth estate” role and speak truth to abuses in government power. With Murrow, and producer Fred Friendly, this was accomplished even more purely with McCarthy’s takedown—it largely being in his own words.
Since the ascension of 47 many have anticipated for him a similar fate. Murrow’s journalistic ethos was still prevalent a decade ago and the list of 47 misdeeds was long after a lifetime of grifting as New York con man. But this never came to pass for a variety of reasons. Today 47 reigns and Journalism is nothing but smoldering ashes.
Meanwhile appropriate government investigations, impeachment and lastly, the American judicial system all took a turn at revealing 47’s misdeeds while initially holding office. In the absence of Journalism many believed these institutions were to provide him the type of ending Brutus and Cassius gave to Caeser. This was also not to be, capped by the efforts of a compromised Supreme Court.
The stunning announcement that the new Pope is an American—in today’s international context—raises a dozen questions about what facilitated this improbable outcome. With American news scrutiny that was both overdone and squeamish, Pope Leo XIV was presented to the world on May 8th amid bruised jaws still lying on the floor. Something that was simply given as to never happen (an American Pope), occurred and a Catholic kid from Chicago’s south side—born in the TV era and a White Sox fan—was elevated to lead the Catholic Church.
One doesn’t have to be Catholic, American or even a believer in “faith” to acknowledge the titanic outcome of a conclave that lasted barely 48 hours! One would also have to take full leave of their senses to think the action of Vatican Cardinals was not influenced by growing world threats of government authoritarianism. Especially here in America where 47 two-point-oh provides a daily, hideous reminder of hate made for klieg lights robbing the American spirit—canonical and otherwise—the Vatican may have sensed both danger and an opportunity. As prognosticators chortled, a 57-1 longshot emerged offering both surprise and indignation to bettors that he wasn’t part of Derby wagers less than a week ago.
But the surprise of this must be tempered by what Cardinals saw while the rest of world played with Nero down the street. World religions have first and foremost always been political, then financial and finally, spiritual. Especially in American Catholicism where the Church carries such a poor image after decades of predatory sexual abuse, Cardinals surely knew that steering the papacy to a “domestic” leader was hardly the world’s worst idea. The Church is reported to have financial issues inviting a whiff of a main storyline from the 1990’s Godfather Part III. It clearly has core business issues—at least in America—where church participation has fallen to modern lows. Its also encountering key existential or theological issues where a changing world continues to invite and normalize the mistreatment of our brothers—not those in some far away land—the ones three houses down our own street!
On this latter point this is where the Vatican and 47 may intersect and bring to America something missed by CBS, The Mueller Report or Merrick Garland. The bread and butter of the Catholic Church is advocating the most humble teachings of Jesus Christ wrapped in a heavenly style of language that gives faith-sellers lots of wiggle room. Social Justice would be its more common categorical name and it is the Church’s modern cornerstone. The current White House administration and its slavish following of Project 2025 swims directly upstream to this. There are dozens of ways—practiced over two millenia—by which the Vatican can chide, oppress or otherwise restrict the free thinking of its followers without dismissing their humanity and basic rights. In the current White House trampling that same humanity is the name of the game meaning at the conceptual level, where 47 is headed and where the Catholic Church has always been, flow opposite to one another.
If Cardinals know this (and if they don’t who would?), then its potentially adjacent to fixing the damaged image of America’s Catholic Church. It’s adjacent to stopping the hemorrhage of domestic followers and all the financial implications that brings. It’s adjacent even to the not so far-fetched idea that might the Vatican make its own Project 2025? An aim to revitalize American interest in Catholicism by simply opposing—sometimes vigorously in pontifical style—the low-hanging fruit of hatred 47 and minions provide daily?
It would take one weeks of opposing argumentation to conclude that nothing like the above influenced how Cardinals recently voted. Assuming that doesn’t happen consideration of the opposite must follow. Is it possible that in its own plodding style the Catholic Church is going to take on 47? Is it possible at a non-digital, ecclesiastical pace that Pope Leo XIV will tweet, write and speak in ways and on topics that will find all hanging on his words about direction to resist 47? If such a thing materializes is it good or bad for our country? Or both? Where would we be as a secular nation if the world’s most powerful church becomes a motivator in our domestic politics mashup? Do we, even MAGA supporters, have both the heart and stamina for such a thing? After only a decade the country is exhausted by 47’s madness yet the Catholic Church schtick goes back to time of Christ. Who do we think is best built for the long haul?
So, amid our raised eyebrows we must be reminded that in an era where little is as what it seems, that bromide cuts both in good and bad ways. Don’t buy the idea the Pope Leo was a stunning “upset.” Do consider whether any of the above speculation applies. Will the Catholic Church in America try something that few in American Journalism, business or government have sustained; to consistently call out 47, his hench people and their practices that have robbed us all of our own dignity?