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\
/                          PETITION IN DEFENSE OF
\                            POPE JOHN PAUL II
/
\  We the undersigned call on the media to act responsibly when
/  Pope John Paul II comes to New York this October.
\
/  It is not acting responsibly to give a high profile to the voices of 
\  dissident and alienated Catholics.  It is not acting responsibly to 
/  focus almost exclusively on those issues of Catholic teaching that
\  are in tension with the values of the culture; worse, it is wrong to
/  lecture the Church on getting into line.  It is not acting responsibly
\  to neglect coverage of the good work that Catholics and the Catholic
/  Church have done in servicing the least among us.  It is
\  not acting responsibly to continue to deride and disparage
/  Catholic teachings in news reports, Op-Eds and cartoons.  And it 
\  is not acting responsibly to deny that anti-Catholic sentiment is a 
/  force in our society.
\   
/  In short, if respect for diversity is truly a value that those in the 
\  media embrace, then respect for the diversity that Catholicism
/  offers should be readily apparent.
\
/
\  Signature:  __________________________________________
/
\  Address:    __________________________________________
/
\              __________________________________________
/
\  Date:  ________________________________
/
\
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