What happens when a Pope is persecuted?

April 1, 2010 - PRLog -- FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
The Maximus Group
Christine Schicker, 404-610-8871

ATLANTA, April 1, 2010 – As nearly one billion Catholics celebrate Holy Week, their chief shepherd faces attacks in newspapers, blogs, twitter posts and television and radio news.  Unfortunately, the primary news sources repeatedly fail to report accurate timelines and crucial details. The impression is left that Pope Benedict XVI is part of the problem, rather than leading the way to solving it.

The Maximus Group, the leading Catholic communications company in the United States, has assembled spokespersons ready to offer responsible responses to the many irresponsible accusations. Among the most requested of our spokespersons on this topic are:

•   Fr. Joseph Fessio is founder and editor of Ignatius Press, which is the primary English-language publisher of Pope Benedict XVI’s writings and the publisher of Catholic World Report. Fr. Fessio wrote his dissertation under the direction of Pope Benedict XVI (then Professor Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger).  Fr. Fessio is a member of the Joseph Ratzinger “student circle,” which continues to meet with Pope Benedict.
•   Brennan Pursell is the author of “Benedict of Bavaria”. Pursell, a convert to Catholicism, encountered the Catholic faith as a graduate student at Harvard University while studying the history of the Protestant Reformation. He spent time in Germany, studying the early life of Joseph Ratzinger, visiting all the towns where he lived, the schools where he studied and the churches where he worshipped.  Brennan serves as a faculty member at DeSales University, a Catholic liberal arts college in eastern Pennsylvania.
•   Fr. Robert Barron, the founder of WordOnFire.org and the Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture at University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Ill. Nationally-recognized for his dynamic speaking skills and his utilization of advanced and emerging technologies to minister, Fr. Barron is an expert on the Catholic Church.
•   Dr. Pia de Solenni speaks and writes on a variety of religious, cultural and moral issues. She currently serves as director of Diotima Consulting. Her expertise covers issues relating to women's health, life issues and bioethics, the new feminism and culture. Her work has appeared in various publications including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal Europe, National Catholic Reporter, Our Sunday Visitor and National Review Online.
•   Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church. He authored “We Have a Pope!,” the first Catholic biography on Pope Benedict XVI in the English language. Dr. Bunson has also served as a consultant to USA Today, MSNBC, NBC News, CBS Radio, and the BBC.

Full biographies of these commentators as well as additional experts and their topics are available.

The Maximus Group, LLC – The Maximus Group, a Catholic communications agency, first offered this unprecedented service to the media in 2005 at the time of the passing of Pope John Paul II, during the days of the interregnum and the papal conclave and concluding with the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and his installation as Pope Benedict XVI.  Maximus also served as the go-to agency during Pope Benedict XVI’s historic visit to the United States in April 2008.  Maximus’ mission includes providing the news media with reliable, informed, unbiased sources who can participate in intelligent discussions on topics that include a relevant and sometimes entertaining perspective from the Catholic space.

For interview requests or additional information, please contact Christine Schicker at (404) 610-8871.