OTM: The Pope is Not a Politician

During this week pope Francis visited the United States. He is only the third papal ever in history so far to come to the US so it would seem that the media would pay much attention to him and respect his messages, however this is not the case as seen through this week’s on the media show. Listening to the program they showed, or since this is a radio show played, that the media was covering the pope and his visit as if he were a politician running for office. Some newscasts went as far as saying that the pope’s approval ratings were low instead of just conveying his message for people to be more compassionate and to promote peace.

Physical: Pope Francis visits the US and during his tour is made into an “larger than life character” for the media to over-analyze while misinterpreting and contorting his messages.

Temporal: This event happened last week so it's very relevant and that this is only the third time the pope has came here it would signify that this event should have received better coverage in light of just listening to what he had to say instead of portraying him as a political figure.

Social: I feel like this could make people see the pope and the catholic religion in a bad way since the media has shown him in a light that depicts him as a governing body influencing political agendas including elections for presidency. The people viewing the media when trump called out the pope saying that the things he was saying were going to make isis go after him could cause backlash around the world seeing that at this point in time trump has the best shot for being the next president.

Physiological: This event could cause people to totally misinterpret the pope’s message of be nice to others and promote peace into him becoming a communist. The image of the pope inside the minds of people viewing the media could cause them to make a change from seeing him as an advocate helping humanity to dark person trying destroy america.

 Cultural: What can be said about our culture if we paint the pope in the media the way we do? Media is thought to reflect the ideas and morals of society. In this case did we really care to listen to the pope or did we make him a figurative punching bag like an escape goat for the political runners to point fingers away from themselves?

Thanks for reading.