Her Eminence

Just to prove that I still watch CNN (albeit on fast-forward) and I am an equal opportunity ranter, I want to write about Kyra Phillip's Live From... interview yesterday with the new bishop of the US Episcopalian Communion, The Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Before anything though, let me just say that I think Kyra Phillips is awesome, she's very spontaneous, a great interviewer who manages to warm up to almost everyone (except Nancy Pelosi, I suppose) and make them feel like they're her best friend, and she's HOT.

Unfortunately, her live interview with Bishop Schori, billed as the latter's "first national interview since being elected bishop" was painfully, painfully awkward. Curiously enough, the transcript of said live interview is missing from the official CNN site, replaced instead by this taped exchange (which aired about an hour later):

PHILLIPS: You supported the ordination of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop. Tell me why.
KATHARINE JEFFERTS SCHORI, NEW LEADER OF EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Because I had a sense that the dioceses of New Hampshire who elected him recognized the gifts in him, gifts that were eminently well suited to the challenges of ministry in that place. They knew him, they have known him for 20 years. They had a clear sense of who he was and they believed that God was calling him to be their bishop.
PHILLIPS: So is it a sin? Is it against god's will? Is it wrong to be gay?
SCHORI: I don't believe so.
PHILLIPS: Tell me why?
SCHORI: I believe that God creates us with different gifts. Each one of us comes into this world with a different collection of things that challenge us and things that give us joy and allow us to bless the world around us. And some people come into this world with affections ordered toward other people of the same gender and some people come into this world with affections directed at people of the other gender.

Unless the omission was due to technical difficulties, I don't blame her producers one bit for editing out the entire transcript - the above was the only worthwhile, worth-repeating part of the interview. What were Kyra's other questions? Oh... tonterias really. Like "Who inspired you to become a pilot", "How did you get from being a scientist to a religious figure", "If I were to come to you with nagging questions about God, what would you advise?" Schori was very patient with her answers, and you could tell that Kyra was getting frustrated from not being able to establish a personal rapport. Listening to Schori, I could tell she was a very spiritual person. Which is probably what Kyra forgot: she assumed that like most of her other interviews, Schori would want to talk about herself, as most normal people do. So she threw all these probing, softball questions, trying to squeeze water out of a stone, almost to the point of exasperation. But Schori was very patient and respectfully curt - you could tell she already had figured Kyra out. It was quite painfully amusing to watch, actually. For once, Kyra Phillips was stymied by her interviewee's gentle quietness.

This should have been a Delia "Pija" Gallagher interview - but I guess Kyra wanted to scoop her (and everybody else) out, eh?

(The "Pija" look)

On a different note, I have conducted a statistically-biased survey of what folks think of the proposed new wordings of the mass: I asked 2 older nuns (both 60+ years old), a priest (by proxy), and my dad. The score? 3-1-0 in favor of NOT changing the words of the mass, the one draw was my father (who really couldn't care less). Kinda tells us how out of touch the US Bishops and the Vatican are with the rest of the faithful, eh?

Delia Gallagher