The media are unfairly singling out politicians and clergy for undermining, the prominent County Clare priest Fr Harry Bohan has claimed. Speaking at the opening of an extension to Cahercalla Hospital, Fr Bohan accused the media of engaging in a “blood sport” of “people-baiting”.
He said there was an “obsession” in the country about “attacking and undermining certain categories of people who provide public services and in particular politicians and clergy”.
Fr Bohan said religious people had contributed to hospitals, schools, parish and community life and it was time to call into question the ongoing attacks and undermining of people in religious life, politicians and people who served in other ways such as volunteers.
“Without doubt we have our flaws but no more than other sectors of society, but it has become fashionable for some people in the media, highly paid themselves, to use their privileged position and spend their time entertaining the public by ridiculing people who have given their lives to serve,” he said.
"Satire has always been an acceptable form of wit – however, satire and the type of blood sports now being pursued by some, are poles apart,” said Fr Bohan, who founded the Céifin Centre for Change.
He said that “people-baiting” of priests, politicians and others in public service was distracting from the debate of issues such as “revolutionary changes in family life”, which, he said, were of serious concern to the majority of Irish people.
“It is also interesting that at the vanguard of this new media sport are some of the highest paid journalists and presenters, who at the same time promote and kowtow to so-called celebrities, many of whose own lifestyles leave much to be desired”.
Fr Bohan said he did not wish to belittle in any way the contribution of other sections of the media in exposing corruption in Irish society or for contributing to what he termed “a more collaborative Church and more democratic party system”.
“However, in doing so, the media can now be charged with occupying the high ground which it has attacked others for occupying”.
“Worse still,” he concluded, “it is doing so in the name of entertainment”.
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