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The Weblog at The View from the Core - Thu. 05/30/02 10:38:36 PM
   
   

Russ Reeves to the Rescue

Both Amy Welborn and Eve Tushnet have posted a link to a Gary Wills hatchet-job on Philip Jenkins. (I say "a Gary Wills hatchet-job on Philip Jenkins", because there are more than one.) Both Amy and Eve seemed to be largely uncritical of Wills' article. Sorry, I don't have the references right now. I never bothered to tell either of them of my... shall we say... considerable doubts about Wills' reliability, because they would have asked me why, and I haven't had time to adequately research and sufficiently analyze.

Mostly in consequence of his having thus snookered two fine Catholic women bloggers, I have had it in the back of my mind to write a column about Wills' misrepresentation of Jenkins' book Pedophiles and Priests. Courtesy of Mark Shea's blog today, I find that Russ Reeves of Tolle, Blogge has just done something like that.

Oh, I did write a little bit about this, in my April 15 column, which I guess I could have referenced to Amy and Eve:

First, from author Gary Wills, from whom I quoted last time. He had a two-part article published in the Boston Globe, Mar. 24. The first part is notable for its egregious misrepresentation of Philip Jenkins’ book Pedophiles and Priests, from which I quoted extensively in Part One. (Wills has quite the reputation for egregious misrepresentation.) Now, Jenkins’ book is a remarkably even-handed treatment of the subject. Perhaps it is this very even-handedness that Wills fears, for he does his very best — which, by the standard of honest men, would be the very worst — to portray the book as a one-sided “conservative” diatribe. I myself would not defend Wills from the charge of lying about Jenkins’ book.

Moreover, in the second part of his column, Wills numbers Jenkins among “protectors of the hierarchy”. He conveniently neglects to mention that Philip Jenkins is an ex-Catholic Episcopalian: had he done so, Wills would have to explain why such a man would have any interest whatever in “protecting” the Catholic hierarchy. For which, of course, there is no explanation. And, thus, Wills would not have been able to dismiss the man, his book, and those (such as me) who cite and quote it. Had he been honest and forthright, Wills would have had to write quite another column.

I quote Jenkins several times, in different places, in Wolves in Shepherd's Clothing.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Thu. 05/30/02 10:38:36 PM
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