When I was a boy in the South Bronx parish of St. Pius, taught by Dominican nuns, my favorite prayer was, “the Hail Mary.”

I was often chosen to lead the Rosary, and I suspect it was because I recited the prayer rapidly.

To this day, I’ll say the Hail Mary, in times of stress and distress, out of those early devotions, as I did repeatedly, while my Mom was undergoing a life or death operation, for a bypass, a prayerful meditation asking that she survive, or die without much pain. She lived another ten years.

But I can’t say my Mother’s recovery from her almost immovable stone hard heart muscle was because I prayed. Nor did my Mom think that was the reason. But she did say afterwards she would never eat pork again, a respectful offering, out of respect for the pig valve that made her heart healthy again and for years afterwards.

In recent days, National Geographic chose as its cover story, Mary, and described her as “the most powerful woman in the world.”

In the past, Geographic has discussed religion and culture as an influence on nation states and tribes.

But has not given such a misleading title to a subject as this issue — for the article is in truth and fact about the cult of Mary and not about the Mary of the Church or of scripture.

So what happened?

After 127 years under the ownership of the not-for-profit National Geographic Society, the magazine and the Society’s assets have been taken over by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

Murdoch’s purple prose publishing is already evident in this current cover, ascribing to a religious icon the appellation that she is the “most powerful.”

The Aryan image of this strawberry blonde Mary looking more like Cate Blanchett, rather than the more likely image of an historic Mary, perhaps olive skinned and dark haired, is unworthy of Geographic’s past amazing journalism, printed and photographic. Continue reading →