[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]
MSNBC's Chris Matthews revealed his loathing for a part of his Catholic upbringing on the 23 September 2013 edition of Hardball, and ended up mangling the theology behind a beautiful and ancient Church ritual for new mothers. Matthews turned to Catholic dissident Sister Simone Campbell for her take on Pope Francis's visit. Sister Campbell touted her liberal "Nuns on the Bus" campaign as a supposed way to "take the Gospel to where it wouldn't be otherwise, and all the other people that we meet along the road – so many of them are not churched...but that we can be in touch with them."
The sister's statement prompted Matthews to reply harken back to his younger years: "Remember how the word 'churched' used to be used?...which one of you two wants to remind us how bad it was? Remember being 'churched'? You had a baby; then, you had to go to church, and you had to be cleansed – cleansed for having a baby....It's so strange."