Why didn't the media go bonkers when Pope Benedict talked about love or mercy?

[Tantum_ergo]

Such quotes from him are not hard to find. Theories?

Because the ‘Virtual Benedict’ as crafted by the media was a hard nosed, repressive, stodgy, medieval throwback who just wanted everybody to pray, pay, and obey. Therefore they processed all his statements according to what their perception of him was. If they even noticed the quotes, they would either focus on some other quote in the text that they could use to prop up their ‘virtual interpretation’, or they would call it a ‘weak attempt to disguise his true intentions’, yadda yadda.

The "Virtual Francis’ as crafted by the media though is a progressive, receptive, ‘man of the people’ who is trying to bring the Church into the 21st century by rejecting all the ‘trappings’ and simplifying everything down to what the world thinks is the gospel: Love (which means accept) people (no matter what they do). Therefore, any statements that Francis makes which aren’t ‘in line’ with the Virtual model are likewise ignored or seen as a ‘weak attempt to pacify some of the repressive old order.’

FWIW I love both Popes because the ‘real’ Benedict and the ‘real’ Francis are both godly men leading the Church and doing so to the best of their abilities. Both have wonderful strengths to do so.

 

[shawnbm]

a lot of it has to do with expectations, perceptions and (as m-dent said) assumptions.

When benedict was elected, he had a reputation as being a hard-line doctrinal conservative. The media largely expected him to be a distant, unbending, ivory tower theologian. And so anything he said that fit that narrative got a headline. Anything that did not got glossed over.

With francis, there was excitement at him being an unknown. No one knew much about him. But right out of the gate, he was a pope of firsts: First pope from the new world, first jesuit pope, first pope to take the name francis. Then there was his simple humility (like paying for his hotel bill) that really set the media on a path to basically portray francis as the anti-benedict. And similarly, anything he says that fits that narrative gets a headline. Anything that does not gets glossed over.

this ^

 

[shawnbm]

the media found it easier to portray him as a backwards old nazi, and francis as a liberal with no doctrine, than to really state the truth about these holy fathers. The media, particularly in america, has an aggressive agenda.

this too ^