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  Gay Journos to Media: Watch Your Language on Vatican's Gay Priest Policy

Editor & Publisher [Chicago IL]
November 30, 2005

CHICAGO Gay men are being portrayed inaccurately and unfairly in coverage of the Vatican's guidance on the role of gay men in the Roman Catholic Church, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) says in an "open letter to the news industry."

"Some of those reports have included references to sexual 'preferences,' and reporting without verification parishioner statements that most of the priests involved in the Church's sex-abuse scandal were gay," the letter, addressed to "fellow journalists," states. "Also, factually incorrect opinions that assert a cause-and-effect link between gay men and pedophilia are being reported without challenge."

The letter is signed by NLGJA National President Eric Hegedus, a page designer for the New York Post, and the association's executive director, Pamela Strother.

"As journalists and leaders of NLGJA, we acknowledge our job to report assertions by Catholic officials that the presence of gay clergy has resulted in sexual abuse cases, and even stated beliefs that link pedophilia and gay men," the letter states. It adds, however, journalists reporting similar statements about "other minority and stigmatized groups" would feel obligated to find sources challenging the assertions.

"NLGJA urges that the same professional standards be

applied to stories concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," the letter states.

Hegedus and Strother called the use of the phrase "sexual preference" a "politically charged suggestion" that sexuality is a result of conscious choice.

"In order to be accurate and neutral, journalists should use terms such as 'sexual orientation,' 'sexuality' or 'sexual identity' as appropriate," they wrote.

The NLGJA leaders say in the letter that coverage of the sex abuse scandal among Catholic priests "has done more to link gay men with pedophilia than any other story in decades." Unchallenged by other sources, "such charges can create long-lasting and inaccurate ideas that can damage the lives of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people."

"As journalists," the NLGJA letter concludes, "we owe it to our readers and viewers to uphold a basic practice of our profession: Get all sides of the story and provide our audiences with all the facts."

 
 

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