Time Magazine Censors Pope’s Message on Abortion

In Pope Francis’ historic “virtual town hall” organized by ABC News last week, he used such blunt language to describe abortion as killing that Time magazine has felt the need to tone it down by deleting the offensive expressions.

In speaking with a young single mother of two, Rosemary Farfan, Pope Francis spontaneously congratulated her for not aborting her children.

After listening to her testimony, Pope Francis thanked her and told her he knows “it’s not easy” to be a single mother.

I know that people can sometimes look askance at you. But I’ll tell you one thing. You’re a brave woman because you were capable of bringing these two daughters into the world. You could have killed them inside your womb and you respected life, you respected the life you were carrying inside you and God will reward you for that and He does reward for you for that. Don’t be ashamed. Hold your head high. ‘I didn’t kill my daughters. I brought them into the world.’ I congratulate you.

The Pope’s references to “killing” seem to have been too much for Time, which published an article purporting to convey Francis’ “Top 5 Messages for Americans.”

Time said that the Pope’s second message is that “single mothers should never be ashamed.”

Its transcription of the Pope’s words to Rosemary Farfan, however, censored out some of the Pope’s most significant statements:

I know that people can sometimes look askance at you. You’re a brave woman because you’re capable of bringing these two daughters into the world. You respected the life you were carrying inside you and God is going to reward you for that and he does reward for you for that. Don’t be ashamed. I congratulate you.

Time put the above paragraph in quotation marks as if it were the entire text of the Pope’s statement. In reality, as a quick comparison with the Pope’s actual words shows, it elided Francis’ two references to killing as if he had never said them.

Of course, Time magazine wasn’t alone. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times, and USA Today didn’t bother reporting on the Pope’s references to abortion at all, since a strong pro-life message doesn’t fit within their narrative of what they want this Pope to be. But at least they didn’t resort to actually fudging Francis’ words.

If this is a foretaste of how the mainstream media will be reporting on the Pope’s upcoming visit to the United States, one can expect a very selective message, manipulated to conform to politically correct canons.

Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsrome