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Bumfketeer	Post subject: Ye slots of little faith Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2002 1:14 pm
Joined: Fri Nov 15, 2002 1:01 am Posts: 3557 Location: Cusp of retirement, grave or both	A rim editor (new hire) came trotting up to me with a proof the other day to question something in a front-page story about those darned priests.<p>The rimrat, in moderate dudgeon, informed me that the story referred to someone as a "former priest," and that according to "canon law" a priest continues to be referred to as a priest, even after getting kicked out of the order. This makes no sense to me. <p>I advised him to sit down, and that these buggerers will continue to be called "former" priests on my watch.<p>Questions: 1. Since when is a rim editor an expert on "canon law?" Doesn't the Vatican have jobs for these people in their PR department?<p>2. Has anyone else ever heard of this nonsense?
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SusanV	Post subject: Re: Ye slots of little faith Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2002 2:22 pm
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 1399 Location: In the newsroom	<blockquote><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Bumfketeer: A rim editor (new hire) came trotting up to me with a proof the other day to question something in a front-page story about those darned priests.<p>The rimrat, in moderate dudgeon, informed me that the story referred to someone as a "former priest," and that according to "canon law" a priest continues to be referred to as a priest, even after getting kicked out of the order. This makes no sense to me. <p> I advised him to sit down, and that these buggerers will continue to be called "former" priests on my watch.<p>Questions: 1. Since when is a rim editor an expert on "canon law?" Doesn't the Vatican have jobs for these people in their PR department?<p>2. Has anyone else ever heard of this nonsense?<hr></blockquote><p>1. No clue.<p>2. I hadn't, so I looked in the Catholic News Service Stylebook on Religion. Your rimmer is at least half right. The proper term depends on whether the priest was laicized or suspended. Excerpts from the stylebook:<p>"Laicization: The process in the Catholic Church by which a priest is returned to the lay state, sometimes as a penalty for a serious crime or scandal, but usually at his request....[laicized priests are barred from all priestly functions and are also dispensed from obligations like celibacy.] "A laicized priest also may be referred to as a former priest or resigned priest...."<p>Suspended priests: "When a priest has been suspended, he is no longer permitted by the church to perform priestly functions .... However, he remains a priest and should be identified as Father. Mention in the story that he has been suspended ...."<p>HTH.
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Bumfketeer	Post subject: Re: Ye slots of little faith Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2002 4:52 pm
Joined: Fri Nov 15, 2002 1:01 am Posts: 3557 Location: Cusp of retirement, grave or both	Interesting response; thank you.<p>Despite what Catholic News Service says, I will continue to insist that they are "former" priests unless the AP Stylebook rules otherwise.<p>I appreciate your research.<p>Mike
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rumymommy	Post subject: Re: Ye slots of little faith Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2002 5:28 pm
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 138	<blockquote><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Bumfketeer: Interesting response; thank you.<p>Despite what Catholic News Service says, I will continue to insist that they are "former" priests unless the AP Stylebook rules otherwise.<p>I appreciate your research.<p>Mike<hr></blockquote><p>I think you're expecting too much of the AP Stylebook. If the AP doesn't help and there's a stylebook for a group that certainly has the knowledge of a subject, why not defer? <p>If the church still recognizes suspended priests as such, what business is it of the newspaper to usurp that authority because what the priests did is downright wrong? Hell, if that was the guideline, we wouldn't quote senators, we'd quote "former senators."<p>And maybe your rimrat has an uncle in the cloth or something. Kudos for questioning something like that in an effort to get it right. Better to ask than to print a correction -- er, clarification. Newspapers never get anything wrong, they just don't explain it well enough.
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jjmoney62	Post subject: Re: Ye slots of little faith Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2002 8:37 pm
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 3135 Location: Albuquerque, N.M. USA	If it's your newspaper, you can call those pedophiles whatever you want, and the clearer the better.<p>Ex-priest, ex-parrot, whatever. Who cares what they want to be called. Who are they, K.D. Lang?<p>I'm beginning to detect an unholy link between the Catholic church and fastidiously literal copy editors. Both have been indulged for far too long.
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Bumfketeer	Post subject: Re: Ye slots of little faith Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2002 10:06 pm
Joined: Fri Nov 15, 2002 1:01 am Posts: 3557 Location: Cusp of retirement, grave or both	JJ, you are one of my heroes.<p>It's my slot, dammit. I won't let the Papists take it over!!!
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Phillip Blanchard	Post subject: Re: Ye slots of little faith Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2002 12:48 am
Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2002 1:01 am Posts: 8342 Location: Bethesda, Md.	You're all invited to the "that vs. which" debate on the ACES board.
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