BBC plans autumn offensive against Catholic Church

Attacks coincide with papal Jubilee, reports Christina Farrell
THE BBC is planning a major autumn offensive against the Catholic Church.
A Panorama documentary. called Sex and the Holy City. will be shown on October 16, the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul dl's election and three days before the beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Another programme, Kenyon Confronts, will also be screened by the public service broadcaster in October, this time returning to the subject of clerical abuse in the English and Welsh Church.
Two producers from Kenyon Confronts met with Church representatives on Tuesday to discuss the content of the programme.
They sought an interview between presenter Paul Kenyon and Cardinal Corrnac Murphy-O'Connor.
The producers refused to disclose in detail the contents of the programme, but Church officials said it could only be old cases, which have already been dealt with by both civil and canonical authorities.
Mark Morley of the Catholic Communications Service (CCS), described the meeting as "stormy".
He said: "11 was a more heated interface than I've ever had in this job. One of the things that did come up was the whole issue of how the BBC handles these issues. It's become .a pretty heady cocktail for BBC journalists and it's harder for inure moderate voices to argue that the BBC doesn't have an agenda here.
"It's becoming almost intolerable from a professional point of view. The BBC keeps revisiting this on the basis that they have the best interests of children at heart. They arc turning over old cases, some of which are done and dusted — some of the guys are in prison."
He said the BBC had a "journalistic right" to ask for interviews. but added that "we have a professional responsibility to ensure the right people are being . interviewed about the right issues".
The new attacks are the latest in a series against the Church. More than I ,000 viewers complained to the BBC last year after its Christmas documentary, The Virgin Mary, suggested Our Lady conceived after she was raped by a Roman soldier. The programme came on the heels of a campaign by BBC Newsnight to force the Cardinal's resignation over accusations of mishandling of alleged clerical abusers, which were later proved to be spurious, In April, the BBC admitted bias for the way it manipulated a Radio 4 Today programme report to attack the Cardinal and apologised to Catholic journalist Clifford Longley for editing out his comments in defence of him.
Catholic resentment against the BBC has also been fuelled by its decision to press ahead with the cartoon Popetown this winter.
The BBC describes its portrayal of the Pontiff as "an infuriatingly childish 77-yearold whose every whim must be indulged", but has shrugged off complaints on the grounds that the cartoon was "essentially very funny".
Paul Kenyon, however, has made his mark with a series of aggressive exposds of criminal activity. His targets have included horse race fixing, ID snatchers and conmen who faked their own deaths to claim life insurance.
In an interview with the Press Gazette, he said his work would focus on "traditional current affairs subject matter".
He said: "The treatment and tone will remain the same but the targets will not. They will need to have an issue underpinninuthem, not just individual criminals in their flash cars who perform well in doorsteps."
He will focus on the dioceses of Birmingham and Arundel and Brighton. Letters requesting interviews were sent to the Cardinal, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham and to the Birmingham Archbishop Emeritus, Maurice Couve de Murville. A child protection officer in Arundel and Brighton was "door-stepped" by Kenyon as she left Mass.
The programme is also expected to publicise details of an ICM poll on child protection, conducted among Catholic priests in the summer. The findings are being kept secret until the broadcast.
Fr Shaun Middleton, of the National Conference of Priests, and Mgr Andrew Summersgill, general secretary of the bishops' conference, had warned. priests not to respond.
Fr Middleton said: "I was concerned, as the survey allowed priests to remain anonymous. It was all very underhand."
Out of 2,700 priests approached, a total of 4S6 responded.
A spokesman for the 138C denied an anti-Catholic agenda. "Kenyon Confronts is making a programme about allegations which concern the Catholic Church and are also matters of public interest," he said.