As Catholic News Service Closes, Ideological and Evangelical Outlets Stand to Fill the Void
"Gomez as being on the EWTN board appears to have both an ideological and financial stake at issue. Swapping out Catholic News Agency for Catholic News Service would help EWTN financially, I suspect," said David DeCosse, director of Religious and Catholic Ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
"I don't know how you deal with all that. It certainly looks like there's a conflict of interest there," said Jesuit Fr. Tom Reese, a journalist who has covered the bishops' conference for decades. Reese, who is also a former editor of America magazine, told NCR it was problematic for the communications committee to rely on consultants who have financial stakes in its decisions.
"What the bishops seem to be doing is bringing lobbyists into the room and calling them consultants," Reese said, adding that it would be preferable to have independent experts consult the bishops on matters pertaining to media and journalism.
David DeCosse, director of religious and Catholic ethics, and Tom Reese, senior fellow, quoted by National Catholic Reporter.