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NEWSCORP SCANDAL Huge Scandal in United Kingdom Highlights
Political Power and Influence of Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp SOME ESSENTIAL HISTORY In his book titled Facts of Faith, published in 1943, Christian Edwardson documented the following historical facts: A letter from Rome, dated October 14, 1894, says: The United States of America, it can be said without exaggeration, are the chief thought of Leo XIII....A few days ago, on receiving an eminent American, Leo XIII said to him: 'But the United States are the future; we think of them incessantly.'...That is why Leo XIII turns all his soul, full of ideality, to what is improperly called his American policy. It should be called his Catholic universal policy." - "Catholic Standard and Times" (Philadelphia), Nov. 3, 1894; quoted in "Protestant Magazine," Oct., 1913, p. 441. The report of "the third Washington conference" says: "Our purpose is to make America dominantly Catholic." - "The Mission Movement in America," issued from the Catholic University, Washington, D.C., June, 1909. "It seems to me that the main support of Protestantism comes from the United States and England....If we put an end to this effort in England and the United States by making these nations predominantly Catholic, we will have removed the chief obstacle to the conversion of the world to the true faith....A vigorous effort in the United States at this time will reduce the opposition to an insignificant condition....In the course of another century, the [Protestant] sects will be a study for the historian and antiquarian along with Arianism." - Extract from a letter in "The Missionary" (Roman Catholic), Washington, D.C.: May, 1910; quoted in "Protestant Magazine," Vol. II, p. 22. This Catholic movement has already made such progress in England, that, with a little careful manipulation, its leaders anticipate very little opposition in the future. (See "History of the Romeward Movement in the Church of England," London: 1900, and "The Secret History of the Oxford Movement," London: 1899, both by Walter Walsh; and "The Oxford Movement in America," by Rev. C. E. Walworth, New York: 1895; also "The Jesuits and the British Press," by Michael J. F. McCarthy." Now the "Catholic Action" is focused on America, not in an antagonistic way, but quietly, in wisely planned, systematically organized, and well directed efforts along numerous lines, so as to gain favor among Protestants, and not to be suspected as propaganda. And, remarkable as it may sound, Protestant leaders and people are totally asleep on the Catholic question, even more so than the Huguenots were in France before the St. Bartholomew's Massacre. Dr. E. Boyd Barrett, for many years a Jesuit, and still a Roman Catholic, as far as the author knows, has the following to say about the plans of his church: "In theory, Catholic Action is the work and service of lay Catholics in the cause of religion, under the guidance of the bishops. In practice it is the Catholic group fighting their way to control America." - "Rome Stoops to Conquer," p. 15. New York. 1935. "The effort, the fight, may be drawn out. It may last for five or ten years. Even if it last for twenty - what is twenty years in the life of Rome? The fight must be fought to a finish - opposition must be worn down if it cannot be swept away. Rome's immortal destiny hangs on the outcome. That destiny overshadows the land. "And in the fight, as she has ever fought when battles were most desperate in the past, Rome will use steel, and gold, and silvery lies. Rome will stoop to conquer." - Id., pp. 266, 267. In a communication from Vatican City, published in the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Nov. 4, 1936, we read: "Pope Pius feels that the United States is the ideal base for Catholicism's great drive.... "The Catholic Movement, Rome's militant organization numbering millions all over the world, will be marshaled direct from Rome by Monsignor Pizzardo - next to Pacelli the Holy See's shrewdest diplomat and politician - instead of by the local bishops as before. The priest's education is to be thoroughly revised and modernized - with special attention to modern propaganda methods. In addition there will be established in each country a central bureau, responsible only to Rome, to combat red agitation with every political weapon available....The church must fight, and at once. "Coughlin has shown us the way of getting at the modern man. He has embarrassed us by showing and using the political power of the church so openly....We know how to tackle America today, and that is our most important problem at the moment. "Pacelli is contacting the American cardinals and leading Catholic personalities,...to explain the Vatican's plan for the new crusade....The Catholic political organizations in the large cities, like Tammany Hall, will give the church a good lever. Those contacts are also being carefully inspected by the pope's minister. "The Vatican itself resembles a general staff headquarters preparing plans and arms for a big offensive. Since the time of the Counter-Reformation, churchmen say, no such extensive reorganization of personnel and propaganda methods has been undertaken. The whole world-wide net of Catholic organizations and sub-organizations is being contacted directly from Rome and cleared for action. The church is to be adjusted to modern political, social, and cultural conditions." - p. 10, col. 3, 4, used by permission. This article speaks of Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, then papal secretary of state, coming from the Vatican to effect the above mentioned reorganization. He toured the United States "in a chartered airplane." Christian Science Monitor says: "The visit of a high Roman prelate to the United States on the eve of an election is as unprecedented as it is delicate." - Oct. 2, 1926. This Catholic plan of conquest was well understood years ago. An illustration in Harper's Weekly of October 1, 1870, pictured the pope pointing to America as "The Promised Land." (Pp. 240-242, bold emphasis added) Note Christian Edwardson's statement above: Now the "Catholic Action" is focused on America, not in an antagonistic way, but quietly, in wisely planned, systematically organized, and well directed efforts along numerous lines, so as to gain favor among Protestants, and not to be suspected as propaganda. And, remarkable as it may sound, Protestant leaders and people are totally asleep on the Catholic question, even more so than the Huguenots were in France before the St. Bartholomew's Massacre. Thus, initially Rome trod softly with seductive words and actions. The Protestant world sleepwalked into her deadly embrace. Now the prediction that "In the course of another century, the [Protestant] sects will be a study for the historian and antiquarian along with Arianism" is substantially realized in the major churches that are "Protestant" in name only. Concurrently, Rome's propaganda organs strike fear into the hearts of national and international leaders with hard demands and threats of retribution against those who resist. The reference to Coughlin is significant ("Coughlin has shown us the way of getting at the modern man," quoted above): Father Charles Coughlin occupied both a strange and a familiar place in American politics in the 1930s. Politically radical, a passionate democrat, he nevertheless was a bigot who freely vented angry, irrational charges and assertions. A Catholic priest, he broadcast weekly radio sermons that by 1930 drew as many as forty-five million listeners. Strongly egalitarian, deeply suspicious of elites, a champion of what he saw as the ordinary person’s rights, Coughlin frequently and vigorously attacked capitalism, communism, socialism, and dictatorship By the mid-1930s, his talks took on a nasty edge as he combined harsh attacks on Roosevelt as the tool of international Jewish bankers with praise for the fascist leaders Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler. The “Radio Priest’s” relentless anti-elitism pushed Roosevelt to sharpen his own critiques of elites, and in that sense Coughlin had a powerful impact on American politics beyond his immediate radio audience. “Somebody Must be Blamed”: Father Coughlin Speaks to the Nation Rome did not disapprove of the content of Father Coughlin's sermons. They were only concerned that "He has embarrassed us by showing and using the political power of the church so openly." This gives us an understanding of the reckless and irresponsible lying propaganda that is being spewed out in all types of "news" media. This is "steel, and gold, and silvery lies" much of the lies no longer "silvery;" but harsh and unrelenting. THE POWER AND INFLUENCE There is this news organization which first established itself in the United Kingdom, then moved into the United States: ("It seems to me that the main support of Protestantism comes from the United States and England....If we put an end to this effort in England and the United States by making these nations predominantly Catholic, we will have removed the chief obstacle to the conversion of the world to the true faith....A vigorous effort in the United States at this time will reduce the opposition to an insignificant condition..." [Quoted above from Facts of Faith.]) Consider the power wielded openly by this organization in the United Kingdom, and more insidiously in the United States: At long last, Rupert Murdoch and his News International empire is feeling the heat over the News of the World phone hacking scandal. I hope this spells the beginning of the end for Murdoch's near suffocating hold over much of the Western media. Over the last two decades or more, the most powerful media owner ever to emerge has built up a huge empire that includes numerous newspaper titles, television and radio stations around the world (including in New Zealand and his native Australia). Murdoch's company owns some of the best known publications in the world including the UK newspapers The Times and The Sun. One of his most famous television mouthpieces is the neoconservative Fox News channel in the US. Through controlling a vast number of media outlets, Murdoch has been able to influence political debate and decisionmaking, particularly in the UK and increasingly in the US. British prime ministers such as Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Gordon Brown have been built up and then torn down at his mere whim. It was reported this week, for example, that former prime minister Tony Blair regularly phoned Murdoch and, in particular, he conversed with the Aussie media mogul just days before the Iraq War in 2003. The Murdoch empire backed the Iraq War to the hilt.' (The News Of The World Scandal: Murdoch And News International In The Dock) 'In a press conference minutes before Mr Coulson, the paper’s former editor, was arrested by police, the Prime Minister repeatedly stressed that the appointment was “his responsibility” but declined to apologise or acknowledge a mistake had been made. He admitted that the relationship between politicians and the media had become too close. . .The Prime Minister described the News of the World scandal as a “wake-up call”, adding: “Over the decades, on the watch of both Labour leaders and Conservative leaders, politicians and the press have spent time courting support, not confronting the problems.' (News of the World phone hacking scandal hits No. 10) The scandal that has rocked News Corp. has brought to the fore the singular role played by its controlling owner, Rupert Murdoch. The media mogul's influence is exerted for a single-minded purpose in the U.K. The past five prime ministers have courted Murdoch assiduously in gaining and holding onto office — none more so than Labour's Tony Blair. In plotting his path to 10 Downing St. in the mid-1990s, Blair once flew to an island off the coast of Murdoch's native Australia to address an annual meeting of News Corp. That impressed Murdoch, who threw his support behind Blair's New Labour movement. Labour MP Paul Farrelly questions how many votes Murdoch's publications can really deliver. "There are two reasons for Rupert Murdoch's clout in the U.K. One has been a perception that his newspapers have influenced the outcomes of elections. That's doubtful. What Rupert Murdoch does is before elections: He backs winners or political parties he thinks are going to win," Farrelly says. Murdoch controls two of the most prestigious papers in the country, as well as the two most widely read, both tabloids. Despite his conservative leanings, Murdoch and his papers have swung to leaders of both major political parties, so his patronage constantly appears to be in play. Farrelly says there's a second, more sinister reason for politicians to curry favor. "There is the threat of intrusion, the sword hanging over people if they take powerful vested interests in the press on," he says. "And that's a fact of life."' (The Bottom Line: Murdoch's Influence In The U.K.) [NPR Interview]: KELLY: So let's tick through our list here. We just heard some of the Murdoch empire's holdings. But when you're talking about the empire, you were talking about a dozen film studios, all the Fox TV channels, the book publisher HarperCollins, of course lots of newspapers, and I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out. Mr. AULETTA: You are. You're also leaving out not only Fox Television Network and Fox News but cable networks they own. They own sports networks. They own 150 newspapers. They own outdoor billboards, satellite TV that covers much of Europe and much of Asia. They are a colossus. . . . Mr. AULETTA: In the U.S. he has enormous influence. I mean just think of the Fox Network, which has more viewers in the evening than CNN and MSNBC, its two competitors, combined. So if you think about the impact of Fox News on elevating the Tea Party and its profile in the United States, it had enormous impact. So presidential candidates, senatorial candidates and gubernatorial candidates court Rupert Murdoch. And they court him not just because they want his editorial support but because they don't want him to oppose them. He's a very powerful foe. (Will News Corp.'s Scandal Spread To The U.S.?)
Before proceeding to the Roman Catholic Connection, here is a startling and blatant example of the power and influence of the hierarchy, which may or may not have been exercised with the aid of the Murdoch publishing empire: September 30, 2003 The Roman Catholic Church launched an unprecedented attack on the BBC yesterday, accusing it of bias and hostility. The Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, said sections of the corporation, particularly in news and current affairs, were pursuing an anti-Catholic agenda. . . . The Archbishop demanded an urgent meeting with senior executives, including Greg Dyke, the director-general. He said the BBC should be forced to justify its funding through the licence fee. He said Catholics were "fed up with seeing a public service broadcaster using the licence fee to pay unscrupulous reporters trying to re-circulate old news and to broadcast programmes that are so biased and hostile. Enough is enough." (BBC is biased against Roman Catholics, claims Archbishop) February 18, 2010 Secular groups have reacted angrily to news that the director-general of the BBC, Mark Thompson, is lobbying the Vatican in an effort to persuade the Pope to deliver the Thought for the Day religious slot on Radio 4's Today programme. The corporation hopes that a broadcast can be recorded to coincide with the Papal visit to Britain, which is set to take place in September. Mr Thompson, who is a devout Roman Catholic and was educated by Jesuits, is leading the negotiations himself. He recently went to Rome to attend the Pope's weekly audience, where he was a special guest in the front row. He spoke with the pontiff and during his visit is understood to have discussed with Vatican officials the possibility of him recording a message for the BBC. (Don't let Pope present Thought for the Day, say secularists) THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CONNECTION Who is Rupert Murdoch?
The foregoing SpirituallySmart.com web page is provided for research purposes only, and does not constitute an endorsement of any ideology, doctrine, theology, or political perspective promoted on it or its hyperlinked web pages, some, although not all, of which promote theology in conflict with that of Adventist Laymen's Foundation. The interlocking associations are highly informative; and note the award by the Roman Catholic Church to Rupert Murdoch of the Papal Knighthood of St. Gregory. Seventh-day Adventist Fans of Fox News - Beware! "TEA PARTY UNITED™" PRESENTS: FOX NEWS! The vast majority of FOX NEWS Hosts and Analysts are Devout Catholics: Bill O'Reilly, Monica Crowley, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck, Megyn Kelly, Juan Williams, Ann Coulter, . . .and MANY MORE! Rick Santorum (Temporarily not under contract by presidential bid) . . . A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling recently found Fox News to be the only US television news network to receive a positive rating by the public for trustworthiness.[41] [SOURCE: Fox Most Trusted Name in News? Public Policy Polling, 2010]. The successful leader, Roger Ailes - although not a Catholic, Ailes attends weekly Mass with his Catholic wife. He says he has a good relationship with the priest and bishop and supports the Church. At times, Fox News seems to be the Catholic Newsroom rather than "America's Newsroom." . . . (Copied from TEA PARTY UNITED™, FOX News IS The CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY.) [Web page can no longer be found.] Are these Tea Party People gloating Roman Catholics, or misguided Evangelical fans? - It seems most likely that they are the former. There are amongst Seventh-day Adventists who sit in the pews of the local churches, attitudes ranging from indifference to actual hostility against recognizing Rome's role in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. This is probably a reflection of the re-education that has been in progress before and since 1974, when the following statement was made in a Court Brief filed on behalf of the highest officials of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: Although it is true that there was a period in the life of the Seventh-day Adventist Church when the denomination took a distinctly anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint, and the term "hierarchy" was used in a pejorative sense to refer to the papal form of church governance, that attitude on the church's part was nothing more than a manifestation of widespread anti-popery among conservative Protestant denominations in the early part of this century and the latter part of the last, and which has now been consigned to the historical trash heap so far as the Seventh-day Adventist Church is concerned." From EEOC vs. PPPA (1975 Reply Brief for SDA Defendants in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment) Even with the tolerant attitude towards the Papacy that has been fostered in the Seventh-day Adventist Church for decades, it is still inexplicable that there is widespread acceptance by many, many, members of the most patently false and rabid propaganda which is being spewed out on Fox News and other Religious Right dominated media. It is propaganda that is most unchristian in tone - and right in line with what Rome herself has stated she will do in order to gain domination of the United States and the world. (Cf. Rev. 16:13-14. - On which side of "the battle of that great day of God Almighty" will the reader of this page be?) This kind of propaganda should be like an illuminated red sign flashing: "Deadly Danger, this is a Mark of the Beast." ('The fight must be fought to a finish - opposition must be worn down if it cannot be swept away. Rome's immortal destiny hangs on the outcome. That destiny overshadows the land. "And in the fight, as she has ever fought when battles were most desperate in the past, Rome will use steel, and gold, and silvery lies."' Quoted above from Facts of Faith.) It is reasonable to conclude that believing the printed propaganda, and acquiescing in the lies being spewed on television, radio, and the Internet, all with the aim of destroying the American Constitution's guarantee of freedom of worship and bringing the Nation under the domination of Rome, is one way to receive the Mark of the Beast. ("In theory, Catholic Action is the work and service of lay Catholics in the cause of religion, under the guidance of the bishops. In practice it is the Catholic group fighting their way to control America." - "Rome Stoops to Conquer," p. 15. New York. 1935, quoted above from Facts of Faith.) There is a further aspect of the power and influence exercised by Rome through the news media, that requires attention. It is Rome's antagonism towards Liberalism: It may have been a long time coming, but the collective uprising of Britain's MPs had dramatic, immediate effect, with News Corp backing down hours before the three parties could vote on Wednesday night to demand it drop its bid for BSkyB. If, as some suggest, the phone-hacking scandal does mark a fresh beginning for our politics, shorn of fear and favour, what will that new era look like? Will there be a new liberal dawn across all areas of policy, but particularly in the area all recent governments have been at their most abject towards the tabloids – criminal justice and civil liberties? Tony Blair and Gordon Brown believed that Britain was both a Conservative and conservative country. They were pessimistic, fatalistic perhaps, about their ability to change society. As I wrote in a pamphlet entitled Lost Labours before the last election, in which I decried Labour's timidity: "Blair turned what he saw as electoral necessity into burning rhetoric. He assumed from early on that he would achieve little if he did not acquiesce to the tastes of the majority view as represented to him by pollsters and selected newspaper magnates and editors." It was Robin Cook, my political lodestar, who summed up the malaise: "Blair's dominant political style is concessionary. He spots where the next attack on the left is going to come from and pre-empts it by making it himself." Cook made these comments in 2004, a year after resigning from the cabinet over Iraq, and shortly before his untimely death. "You cannot argue with two landslide victories and a tenure in office without precedent in Labour's history. But as a means of shifting the political values of society, it is hopeless." (One battle won. Now will MPs fight for their liberal values?) We may not agree with all aspects of the liberal priorities expressed in this article, but it is essential to understand why the Roman Catholic Church has been driving society in a far rightward direction. The Papacy is very definitely anti-liberal, and the reason has been revealed: [In] a Catholic schoolbook, "Manual of Christian Doctrine, by a Seminary Professor," printed by J. J. McVey, Philadelphia, 1915, and carrying the sanction of the Catholic Censor and the seal of the Church [the following is stated]: "What name is given to the doctrine that the state has neither the right nor the duty to be united to the Church to protect it? "This doctrine is called Liberalism. It is founded principally on the fact that modern society rests on liberty of conscience and of worship, on liberty of speech and of the press. "Why is Liberalism to be condemned? "Because it denies all subordination of the state to the Church." - pp. 131-133. (Facts of Faith, p. 260, emphasis added) An essay in the issue of the Wanderer Newspaper online, dated March 6, 2002, by Arthur M. Hippler, director of the Office of Justice and Peace in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wis., was titled "Lucifer, The First Liberal." Here are the opening and closing paragraphs: In his encyclical on The Nature of True Liberty (Libertas Praestantissimum), Leo XIII makes the remarkable claim that liberalism is diabolic in its origins. "But many there are who follow in the footsteps of Lucifer, and adopt as their own his rebellious cry, I will not serve; and consequently substitute for true liberty what is sheer and most foolish license. Such, for instance, are the men belonging to that widely spread and powerful organization, who, usurping the name of liberty, style themselves liberals" (Libertas Praestantissimum, n.14). Although the Holy Father’s comparison may seem hyperbolic, nonetheless the principles of liberalism mirror the Devil’s original revolt. . . . While many understand liberalism as a freedom for certain political equality and civil rights, more fundamentally liberalism is a freedom from the moral law and the teaching authority of the Church. One cannot speak of "Catholic liberals" without contradiction, or at the very least, equivocation. Liberalism, like socialism and Communism, has been condemned by Pope after Pope in the social encyclicals. If we are tempted to minimize the evils of this error, we would do well to remind ourselves that Pope Leo XIII presents Lucifer to us as the original liberal. (Emphasis added; note the date of the essay!) (Lucifer, The First Liberal) (Cf. Liberalism.) The Roman Catholic view of Liberalism turns Truth upside down; and this is not surprising, because the "power behind the throne" is Satan (Rev. 13:2.) Jesus Christ said to the Jews who sought to kill Him, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:44.) ('The fight must be fought to a finish - opposition must be worn down if it cannot be swept away. Rome's immortal destiny hangs on the outcome. That destiny overshadows the land. "And in the fight, as she has ever fought when battles were most desperate in the past, Rome will use steel, and gold, and silvery lies."' Quoted above from Facts of Faith; emphasis added.) |
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