Madeleine McCann: The Pope’s Holy See
“FOR 26 anguished days she has not spent a night away form her twins. But yesterday, as the search for little Madeleine went on, Kate McCann had to say goodbye…”
What follows is “A MOTHER’S HEARTACHE”, as the Mirror sees Kate McCann say “GOODBYE DARLINGS” to her twin children.
In the mystery of Madeleine McCann, we are back to watching the parents, looking on as “TROUBLED” Kate McCann prepares to make the journey to meet the Pope.
What follows adds nothing to the search for Madeleine McCann. Adds nothing to the debate on why or how the girl was taken. But it adds much to the public spectacle and the media narrative, which threatens to consume the McCanns.
Pope Of Hope
The Mirror sees Kate flash her children a “bright smile”. She gazes into “their shining eyes”. Mum and dad are going now, off to see the Pope, a man who can help them find Madeleine by, as dad Gerry McCann says, giving them a “great spiritual lift”.
Gerry McCann tells us: “Meeting the Pope is so potentially hugely important to what we are trying to achieve as a family. We never thought for one moment we would get such publicity, but it means we can get our message across.”
From the parents of a missing girl, the McCanns now carry a message.
Writing Wrongs
The Sun calls them a “deeply religious couple”, but anyone who has followed the case knows Gerry to be less then that. The theft of his daughter has increased his religious convictions. Prayer is, after all one thing he can do for himself.
The McCanns cannot rely on the police. The Sun says “bungling Portuguese cops” miscalculated the height of the man seen carrying a child on the night Madeleine disappeared. The witness said he was 5ft 7in. The police converted that into metric and came back with 5ft 10in. The Sun is appalled. But fails to say how three inches would have cracked the case, nor how such a thing was overlooked by the crack British police it watched head to Portugal weeks ago. The Mail says chief suspect Robert Murat is 5ft 8in.
Thankfully, the Pope is here to help. Sun readers learn that the Pope will include Madeleine “prominently in prayers”. Who knew there was a pecking order, a hierarchy of prayer, the Pope sandwiching in Madeleine between payers for world peace, ecumenism and an end to accusations of paedophilia in the American Roman Catholic Church?
See You Soon
Readers learn that in the next few days the McCanns plan to travel to Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam. They are looking for their daughter. We wish them well. But what is their odyssey but a chance for the papers to see the McCanns in new locations.
“Be safe darling, Mummy will be back soon,” says the Express’ front–page caption besides a picture of Kate McCann cradling her son. “The hardest goodbye for Madeleine’s mother as she leaves her twins behind,” says the Mail, its shot of Kate with her daughter.
And we will be looking on. As the Mirror says: “Kate knows if there is any hope of bringing Madeleine home safe she must do whatever is necessary to keep the story of the disappearance in the news worldwide.” So “she has emerged into the media spotlight every say and allowed herself to be filmed and photographed to keep the abduction highlighted.”
Do you see? Kate allows herself to be stalked by the papers. And the papers tell us about Madeleine. The Mirror justifies its story. Only it’s not keeping up its end of the deal. The Mirror does not tell us about Madeleine McCann, sheds no light on the case to find her and offers no insight.
The Mirror and it rivals tell us about Kate McCann. And we all know where she is…
Posted: 30th, May 2007 | In: Tabloids Comments (70) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
- Graeme (aka eggman) on Flexetarians Are Meat-Eating Vegetarians
- coolandcalm on Flexetarians Are Meat-Eating Vegetarians
- June on Flexetarians Are Meat-Eating Vegetarians
- Graeme (aka eggman) on Flexetarians Are Meat-Eating Vegetarians
- Graeme (aka eggman) on US Forced Fort Hood Murderer Nidal Hasan To Join The Army
June 8th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
If as a “Catholic” you are ready to have IVF in direct contradiction of Catholic teaching which describes it as “gravely evil”, in order to conceive 3 children, which necessarily involves conceiving multiple additional embryos that you then throw in the trash as surplus to requirements, then you are hardly in a position to demand much sympathy when the children you decided not to throw in the trash, are abducted from you.
“Maddie” could have been disposed of shortly after conception without so much as a tear from her mother or father who as doctors would know what IVF involves. She just happened to be the embryo that got picked out of the petri dish, while her brothers and sisters were incinerated.
No fault of hers, of course but her parents seem to have a twisted sort of morality.
June 4th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I’m not really one for dark humour., but since irena above mentions ’til the cows come home’ - someone did say to me today: “If I ever get a cow I’ll call her Madeleine; so I can milk her for all she’s worth”.
I’ll get my hat…
June 4th, 2007 at 10:49 am
As a Traditionalist Latin Rite Catholic I agree with those who say Mrs McCann should have worn a black mantilla when she met Benedict Ratzinger. Furthermore the Pope should have spoken out against IVF - the use of which is totally contrary to Catholic doctrine though since Vatican 2 anything goes. I also agree that given the Vatican’s cover up of their child molesting priests that the whole appearance before the Pope is a joke - what if it turns the the abductor was a priest!!! The whole circus surrounding this affair makes me puke. The McCanns should never have used IVF in the first place. Leaving three children in an unlocked room proves that they should have remained infertile. This case is focusing on the prefect photogenic professional couple - if they had been either aristocrats or working class they would have been slagged off till the cows came home. The McCanns make me puke.
May 31st, 2007 at 4:54 pm
My thoughts too Pixie Girl
No, i wouldnt have left mydaughter either. I do think it was a serious error of judgment. But to be honest, what;s the point inj going over that now? I’m pretty sure that the McCanns have learnt their lesson and people spouting nasty, viscious comments about them wont help. At the moment the family need love and support. They do not need their noses rubbing in it.
With regard to their actions now, all I see them doing is cluutching deperately at the hope that raising the profile will help them find their little girl. They firmly believe that if everyone in the world knows madleiens face, then she (if she is still alive and walking around in public somewhere, at some point in the future) may get recognized.
How can you possibly criticise them for that? They are trying to raise money through an utterly transparent method, or asking the public for help. This money will allow them to focus on finding their little girl, rather than having to worry about rushing back to their jobs. that’s if they could concentrate on their very important jobs anyway, which I doubt.
Is their behaviour odd? I doubt it. In fact I dont think any pattern of behaviour could be considered completely odd at the moment. They are in a very very hideous situation. As she hasnt died (as far as we know), they cannot just grieve and move on. They cannot sit there doing nothing. They cannot just go back to work and general life. They have to start looking.
I personally dont find anything odd in the fact that they are spending every waking hour trying to find her.
This article is twisted and sick, and tries to stop any sympathetic feelings you might have been having. It’s up to you. You can forgive them their foolish mistake and offer some compassion, or you can carry on hating and throwing nasty comments around.
I choose compassion. I would probably feel compassion for you as well one day if the same thing happened. When people are in the shit they need help, not kicking when they are down.
rant over.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:18 pm
scarlett it isn’t that i believe the parents were ‘right’ i just think that blame is a useless emotion, what good will it do Madeleine to Blame the parents?
No I would not have left my children, however when I was a child we used to go to a holiday camp in the uk called Butlins and like any child or parent of the 70’s or 80’s i well remember the ‘child crying in chalet 6′ call from the wardens, this was common practice, and the world is no more full of predatory peodophiles now than it was then.
So you go on blaming the parents all you want to, but me personally I think it’s pointless !
May 31st, 2007 at 1:08 pm
As Cock Robin posted, the parents said -
“we are guilty, if anything, of being naive’.”
I respect the right of those defending the parents to do so, but I have
yet to see those who defend them tell us how they feel about the parents making comments like the above..
Do the parent defenders agree with that statement?
Do those who defend the parents not see something odd about the parent’s behavior as noted in the article this thread is the result of?
I live in Chicago and happened upon anorak news and forums after seeing the story of Madeleine on MSN’s homepage and searching on webferret for any stories about her, since the Chicago newspapers or news stations on tv have not been covering the story.
I have to applaud those who post here for being respectful of the opinions of others. I’d first come upon a forum - Watching the Parents
and was appalled at the rude, verbally abusive behavior of two women there. If one did not agree with them their comments were horrendous
verging on psychotic.
I’d really like to hear from someone who finds nothing odd about the parents’ behavior because to me, everything the article that prompted these comments said relates my perception as well.
Perhaps someone could say something to change my mind.
???
May 31st, 2007 at 10:01 am
How about a good old bit of Christian forgiveness and compassion? At what point do you think they will have suffered enough?
that is so true, from what i can see being a christian today is all about oneupmanship and blame. Being a christian doesn’t make you a better person. having a good christian attitude does!
May 31st, 2007 at 9:47 am
Maybe Backham is planning to offer financial assistance.
Also Beckham is an internatiional Icon and thi siwll raise awareness worldwide, not just america and spain.
A few years ago I went backpacking in malaysia and threkked through the jungle in borneo.
Some of the tribes we came lived extremely basic, yet had posters of beckham on their walls! We chatted with national park wardens in the jungle and all they wanted to talj about was beckham. It was quite surreal, but he is an internation phenomenon. If he gets involved, the world will know about it.
And a quick message to all you so called Christians who are busy slating the McCanns.
How about a good old bit of Christian forgiveness and compassion? At what point do you think they will have suffered enough?
Some of the nastiest people I know are christians. Where are all the kind hearts these days?
May 31st, 2007 at 6:09 am
lets nail them to the wall then for not being perfect! maybe that will appease you lot baying for blood, have some compassion, we all make mistakes!
May 31st, 2007 at 2:08 am
# pixie girl Says: quote from bbc news:- Kate and Gerry McCann told the BBC “no-one will ever feel as guilty as we do” after she disappeared from their apartment as they ate dinner nearby.
—
But, they also said - ‘we are guilty, if anything, of being naive’.
No they’re not. They’re guilty of rather more than that. They made a point of emphasising how they chose a family-friendly resort, then went against their apparent instincts, used none of the family friendly services, and left the kids alone with the window unlocked. They haven’t begun to feel as guilty as by their self-stated high standards they should be feeling.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
quote from bbc news:- Kate and Gerry McCann told the BBC “no-one will ever feel as guilty as we do” after she disappeared from their apartment as they ate dinner nearby.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
In reply to Yewandé:
“jesus said “suffer little children to come unto me” and I wonder how many paedos have thought the same..”
The context of the verse was that the crowd tried to stop the parents interrupting the preaching by bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed by Him. The ’suffer’ means ‘let’ (let the children be brought unto me..it’s no problem).
I agree with the comments about the Catholic church and some priests turning pervert and betraying their career.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Anonymous Says:
“long after the McCanns have been forced on top of everything else to acknowledge their mistake publicly”
When did they acknowledge a mistake? I have only read that they felt thousands of people would have done the same…and that they felt that all they are guilty of is being naive !
May 30th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
The McCanns are doing what they can to help recover their abducted
daughter, Madeleine.
Some of the writers here are critical and judgemental of the parents.
What would you do if your child was abducted?
May 30th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Are people still here, thinking about a miracle? Good luck, be back in a couple of weeks to see if your all still bothered.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
not any more, he plays for an american team. But I think the point is that he is an international icon
May 30th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Doesn’t David Beckham play for Real Madrid? In Spain?
I often watch Fox News when I’m working and today Madeline is headline news because of the meeting with the Pope. Previously her disappearance had been mentioned only on the UK part of the headlines.
If it works………….
’s’…… the Moroccan connection was found to be false. I guess that’s the problem with a huge reward.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
With the Pope being involved information will passed in the R.C. countries, but David Beckham can only relay it to America and England, not Spain. So why are ‘their team’ setting up a meeting with him?
May 30th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
http://www.anorak.co.uk/twitterings/173715.html
as if to prove my point
May 30th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I’m not prepared to sit here lecturing on Christianity but don’t quote that old chestnut about “An eye for an eye” if you are not prepared to sit down and read the New Testament and see what Christ said about that particular dictum (Turn the other cheek - I have no idea of chapter and verse - all I know is that he specifically indicated that Eye for an Eye was the Old Order whose vengeful and hypocritical ways he was precisely in the business of doing away with. He also gave a new commandment. One is “Love one another as I have loved you” which includes rather patently “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” a sentiment once expressed that led quickly to his death. Whoever or whatever the figure of Christ is, whether the Son of God or a figment of an early fiction-writers imagination the man, real or imagined, does not fit well with a lack of compassion or refusal to forgive.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I completely agree, it is little Madeleine that we should be thinking of, not the parents. I have heard a meeting with David Beckham is being set up!
for what? Another photo shoot - to spread the word that Madeleine is missing to America. I think the McCann’s should go to Morocco - presumably she was seen there, at least get the publicity to the places she maybe!
May 30th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Oh a mention!! I’d started to think I was invisible
But your right Bernadette it’s time to cut these poor parents some slack, all they are doing is trying to keep their plight in the news, the same as i am sure any one of us would.
And as gabrielle rightly pointed out, many european countries have a very high RC population who watch everything to do with the Pope. and now thanks to the Mccanns they know about Madeleines plight
May 30th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
The veil, mantilla or head covering hasn’t been a rule, just a custom less and less adhered to since Vatican 2 in the 60s and I think that was formalised as pixie girl says under Pope Paul. Can’t see any reason why the Catholic Church would object to IVF to assist conception especially if it involved both parents which it often does. (I’m no doc but as I understand it from a friend who successfully used the method with her husband conception probs can arise because the mother’s hormones aren’t friendly towards conception not because either partner is infertile.) I think you might be mixing Catholics up with Jehovah’s Witnesses and maybe some other fundamentalist sects who believe nothing should be done to interfere with the work of God. One thing is for sure the McCanns personal medical history is none of our business.
CAtholics have a problem with contraception and abortion which are to do with preventing birth not facilitating it - though some are more stuck on this than others and there are considerable numbers of people who consider themselves catholics who disagree enormously with the Vatican position on sexual and conception matters and are as a result non-communicant but still more or less within the Church. It’s an old religion that is home to many intelligent and decent people apart from its share of bigots and hardliners. It is however possibly the last remaining faith that it is ok for the chattering classes to put the boot into without fear of being considered politically incorrect.
May 30th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
A couple of facts……
The Catholic Church is not against IVF providing there are no spare embryos which are later destroyed.
Veils are not necessary in the Vatican, it’s optional.
At the beginning of all this the McCanns local priest was interviewed and even went out to Portugal. He married them and baptised their children. Guess that means they’re regular church goers back home eh?
HOWEVER…….. Religion should make no difference to the situation. The McCanns are clutching at straws as we all would.
Time to cut them some slack…….
May 30th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Thank you Gabrielle for a very reasoned and honest reply
May 30th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
I do not agree with all RC dogma - like, the ban on contraception. I have spent time in the Phillipines, devoutly RC place, even more so that apparently RC countries like Italy,Spain, and where the poverty is just awful and families are living in desperate circumstances with loads of kids, because they take the Pope’s ban on contraception seriously (most of RC Europe does not, sensibly!). If a Pope - any old Pope - had said ‘contraception is OK’ - so much suffering there could be avoided.
As for IVF. I think the RC Church is wrong there, too. It should not make couples using fertility treatment to have a child feel guilty. Frankly, the RC Establishment is still in the Dark Ages with still promoting stuff like that.
But back to the McCanns - I am delighted that through IVF they had three children and whether the Pope knows or doesn’t know, it’s all academic - they got their few seconds of photo opportunity. I just get really queasy that the whole thing has become a sort of circus, reality show, what with blogs and companies set up to take funds and planned European tours … at the end of the day, a tiny girl and even tinier siblings were left alone, in an unlocked apartment, in a foreign country, and one disappeared - snatched, wandered off - they SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN LEFT ALONE. And, whatever the Drs. McCann go on about the ‘thousands’ of messages saying other parents have done the same, I do not believe it.
May 30th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Joanne, Im cynical about the whole affiar, Im tired of it being pushed down my throat, BBC News 24 had the “Breaking News” of the the McCann private jet leaving Portugal on their way to the Vatican yesterday. Every non event is pushed to the top of the headlines. I think this is prurient and just too much. I too have limited sympathy for the McCanns, Kate Mccann, at least. From statements Gerry McCann has made, saying that everyone leaves kids alone while you go for a meal, and he has mixed emotions about seeing the pope, I have no sympathy for him. But most of my sympathy is with Madeleine. She did not ask to be neglected and left home alone to be abducted, or indeed whatever has happened to her. The fact that they a three year old and two two year olds were left unsupervised should not be forgotten. The McCanns are a tleast partially responsible for what has happened.
My posts may appear harsh, but its my opinion and it doesnt mean that I dont want Madeleine to be found, and any sympathy floating about should be directed towards Madeleine, and God forbid. any other missing children whos plight has not been of this magnitude, not to the parents who left her for a jolly at a restaurant.
May 30th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
oh did the Mccanns murder someone?? i must of missed that
May 30th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Eye for an eye also springs to mind
May 30th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
and i must say Gabrielle I am most shocked to hear you are a christian, I thought the church was about forgiveness and not apportioning blame.
‘Let him who is without sin cast the first stone’ springs to mind
May 30th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Before the revision in 1983, Canon Law had stated that women must cover their heads. “… especially when they approach the holy table” (can. 1262.2). But in order to reduce such a growing collection of books, the new version of Canon Law was subjected to concise changes. In the process, mention of head coverings was omitted.
In 1970, Pope Paul VI promulgated the new Roman Missal, ignoring mention of women’s veils. But at the time the missal was published, it didn’t seem necessary to keep this mandatory.
The general rule is that the pope wears white, visitors wear black. and yes you are nit picking!