The Tablet and the blogs

Mulier Fortis refers to the The Tablet's indirect attack on Catholic bloggers and, it would seem, Damian Thompson, author of Holy Smoke, in particular:

"In Britain, too, there are Catholic bloggers, again often right-wing, polemical and vituperative."

I can't but help agree with Thompson's retort,

[The Tablet's] strictures against character assassination would carry more weight if its deputy editor, Elena Curti, didn't try to ruin the reputation and pastoral ministry of fine priests who have the temerity to offer Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

And yet, it is hard not to have a certain sympathy with the Tablet's position. Albeit its poor quality of journalism makes a defence of it difficult, it seems to me that Catholic blogs approach anything it says assuming the worst rather than giving the paper the benefit of the doubt.

And that creates a toxic atmosphere between the disputants that can only damage Christian charity and, ultimately, cause a scandal before the world. I wonder what the Pope would say about it all.