Bye, Bye, Marty


04/15/05: The morning after

The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio and the Lonestar Times in Houston, Texas have thrown in their two cents.

“Note to would-be replacements: Do not question, on the air, in a heavily Catholic region, whether Pope John Paul II made it into heaven because he was not a ‘born-again’ Christian. Ironically, doing so has put Minto in radio purgatory.” – Chuck Yarborough, Plain Dealer

“While the station manager is certainly free to program in any way he sees fit, one wonders if this is another case of ‘Let’s play it safe.'”

“Fortunately for Houstonians there is little fear of boring ‘safe’ radio, as evidenced by the lively discussion of this story on KSEV [AM 700] during Mr. [Dan] Patrick’s show.” – Jeremy Weidenhof, Lonestar Times

Powerball reacted to the furor this morning.

“Well, the story is all over the place. ‘Pittsburgh Radio Host Fired For Wondering If Pope Went To Heaven’ My day started out with a phone call about an AP article that talked about Marty Minto. Then the Drudge Report picked it up. Then my phone started ringing with reporters from ABC and other national talk shows. Many of you have emailed me as well.”

“I’m going to say one thing and one thing only about all this. Don’t believe everything you read. That’s it. Nothing more. I have too much respect for everyone involved to push the issue. Most of you have been very kind to me. Some of you have accused me of being behind all this. Believe what you want to believe.”

“I have always said things happen for a reason. Both good and bad things. Sometimes it takes years to know what that reason is and when we do it’s just another reminder of who is really in control of our life.”

Marty and I certainly didn’t see eye-to-eye on theological issues, but he seemed like a great guy and he had a good radio presence (butchering of English aside). I will miss hearing his voice every day.

It’s funny, his anti-Catholic antics drove me up a wall and the plethora of emails I sent him probably annoyed him just as much. Now that I know that his show won’t be on anymore, I feel sick to my stomach and I’m feeling kind of misty-eyed. I would have liked to see him soften up a little on certain issues, not get fired.

WORD-FM has finally given an official comment.

“The story in Thursday’s Pittsburgh Tribune Review would lead you to believe that we ended Mr. Minto’s program because ‘He questioned if the pope’s Roman Catholic beliefs would impede his entry to heaven.’ This statement did not come from the management of WORD-FM. A similar headline accompanied an AP wire story that unfortunately was not fact checked. We have never placed any restrictions on subject matter for the talk show. Mr. Minto knows that. The decision to release Mr. Minto had been under consideration for an extended period, primarily because of our concern that he tended to unnecessarily alienate listeners; and was finalized well before the pope was in the news. The conclusion that he was released because of his views on the pope is completely without foundation. We regret that you were left with a perception that is false.” (emphasis mine)

I heard Marty crack jokes about nearly getting fired several times but I didn’t think much of it at the time. I guess he wasn’t kidding.

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About Funky Dung

Who is Funky Dung? 29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil. Why Funky Dung? I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!" Whence Ales Rarus? I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P Wherefore blog? It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907) Statement of Faith I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements. I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church. I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter. Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces. May He take full possession of me for ever. May His divine unction cause my face to shine. May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart. May His understanding enlighten my darkness. May His counsel guide me. May His knowledge instruct me. May His piety make me fervent. May His divine fear keep me from all evil. Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it. Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005) I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o' the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback. Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester" Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without further ado, here are my answers to his questions. 1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you favorite Pink Floyd song and why? Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music, but the lyrics describe me pretty well.

New World Man He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure Learning to match the beat of the old world man Learning to catch the heat of the third world man He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it --- He's a new world man... He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and arranger And a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the old world man Trying to pave the way for the third world man He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it --- He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church. At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me, even as a former Lutheran. During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself. Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith. Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing, thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil. 3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever done? I set up WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :) 4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman? "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt." 5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be? That's a tough one. As a member of the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick one, though, I'd probably pick "Sing of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.

12 thoughts on “Bye, Bye, Marty

  1. Rob

    Christians suing Christians proves that we do not take the gospel seriously. Plenty of non-Christians will have their ideas about Christianity confirmed if such a lawsuit is filed.

    Come to think of it, there’s a lot of us Christians who will have their ideas about fellow Christians confirmed by that lawsuit.

  2. Rob

    Eric,

    At least I’m self-employed. I can’t be fired for blogging what I think. How people react at church might be a different matter, but one I’m prepared to deal with.

    How about you?

    If Marty speaks with an attorney, that will be disappointing. Somehow, Christians suing Christians just looks real bad.

    So tell me, how do we heal the Christian community and the Christians from this hurt?

  3. Jerry Nora

    It’s too bad. I would rather have a big Christian personality (okay, big with regard to Pittsburgh!) who would rally Catholics and Orthodox, rather than have a link on his personal website to “Good News for Catholics”, to teach us Catholics what the Bible really says. But we do need challenging folk as well, and I pray that this is not a symptom that WORD is becoming another easy-listening station, so to speak.

  4. Steve Nicoloso

    So was he fired because:

    a) he called The Purpose-Driven [Insert Purpose-Deprived Thing] the moral, therapeutic, deistic schlock that it is?

    b) because he was an ill-informed anti-Catholic bigot?

    If (a) that really is too bad, and confirms my thesis that “safe” Christian Radio is anything but… If (b) then… well… that still seems like no reason to fire him. Seems we still all benefit from folks stirring up the stew a bit…

    We have a “Christian” Radio station here in N. Jersey that goes on-and-on now about how “safe for your whole family” they are. But I really have to wonder just how “safe” their milk-toast programming and profoundly insipid music really is… I have to wonder how many people will try to enter by the wide gate and broad way exactly because it seemed “safe.” “Safe” is exactly what mainstream CCM and X-ian broadcast radio is trying to be… and I can’t help but wonder just how dangerous being “safe” really is… Give me bare boobs @ the Superbowl anyday over this…

    Cheers!

  5. John

    We live in a predominantly Christian country. Christians sue Christians every day, and it does no remarkable harm.

    Also, I don’t know that non-Christian radio stations pose a particular threat to children. We spend an awful lot of time and energy protecting children from some media threat which has never really been demonstrated to exist.

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