Read what Pope Benedict is actually saying each Sunday....

What? The media might overemphasize the Pope's political comments and deemphasize his pastoral teaching on the Gospel? (Amazing, right?) Luckily, Vatican analyst Sandro Magister goes to the source:

The Secret Angelus Messages of Pope Benedict

They're secret in the sense that the media ignore them for what they mainly are: the explanation of the Gospel of that day's Mass. Apart from those present, almost no one knows this. Here is a sample of them: the last seven "little homilies" from the pope on Sundays at noon ...

"The words that Benedict XVI speaks every Sunday at midday, before and after the Angelus – the "Regina Coeli" during the Easter season – are among those most closely followed by the media.

But the media almost always reproduce only those words of the pope that pertain to situations or events in the news, especially when these are political.

... What the media say and write gives listeners and readers the impression that the pope dedicated his entire message to the topic cited.

But that's not the case. It is almost always during the greetings in various languages, which he extends to the faithful after the praying of the Angelus, that Benedict XVI dedicates to current issues just a few brief remarks that are then emphasized by the media. The real and proper message comes before the prayer.

And it is – with rare exceptions – a brief homily on the Gospel and the other readings of that day's Mass."

Preachers of the world - take note!

"In order to raise to acceptable levels the average quality of the millions of homilies pronounced every Sunday all over the world, Catholic priests could do no better than to enroll themselves in the school of Benedict XVI's Angelus addresses."

Read the 7 homilettes here.

We should always actively strive to prevent the media from diluting our impressions of the Holy Father.