Is MSNBC Anti-Catholic?

That’s the question that the God bloggers at St. Michael Society are asking:

The public attacks on the Catholic Church by Rhode Island Representative Patrick Kennedy, and Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin’s defense of the faith and prayerful concern for Mr. Kennedy, have drawn the fire from the center left and its allies in the media.  SMS has written a few times about this conflict, most recently yesterday, when the Bishop responded to yet another public attack on the Church from Mr. Kennedy.

MSNBC has worked hard for years to be the anti-Fox — the network that appeals to the center-left of American society just as Fox News appeals to the center right.  SMS will leave it to media analysts to determine if that strategy is working or failing, but the latest attacks by four prominent MSNBC Talk Show Hosts suggests that MSNBC is not just anti-conservative, it is fanning the flames of anti-Catholicism.

The latest rants and attacks by Chris Matthews and Lawrence O’Donnell, which are a follow-on from MSNBC’s Nancy Synderman, who suggested the IRS should investigate the Catholic Church, and MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan who launched a vicious attack on pro-life Catholic Cathy Ruse, suggests an emerging theme undermining the American tenet of religious freedom and clearly walking the line of anti-Catholicism.

Based on the comments that MSNBC’s Craig Crawford posted on Twitter during Teddy Kennedy’s funeral, I can’t imagine why anyone would think the channel had any sort of anti-Catholic bias. (Click to enlarge):

I mean, I really can’t see it myself:

And speaking of the Kennedys and Catholicism, Tim Graham of Newsbusters cautions, “Try Not to Laugh: Boston Globe Editorial Declares Kennedys ‘Devout Catholics’ Who ‘Drew Others Into the Church.'”

Of course, the Boston Globe was the paper that employed the journalist who wrote in 2004:

“If she had lived, Mary Jo Kopechne would be 62 years old. Through his tireless work as a legislator, Edward Kennedy would have brought comfort to her in her old age,” wrote the Globe’s Charles Pierce. The quote was recognized as the worst of the year at the MRC’s DisHonors Awards in 2004.

So they might not be the most objective judge of the Kennedys on any topic.