I'd love to say I can't understand why one story was newsworthy and the other wasn't....but I understand it completely. I thought the robbery was fascinating and I immediately had about fifteen questions, only some of which the added press was able to answer.

I agree with Sister Joan to a point; it's a bit sad that good works don't get the attention that crimes get, but it goes right along with the rest of society at the moment. News is entertainment, and SWAT had a lot more ticket-buyers than a movie about a Polish nun would (unless she were Whoopi Goldberg and an awesome singer).

It's true that the media, responding to a (sad) preference of people for gruesome, so-glad-it-wasn't-me shock-news, seems to play up or pander to that interest. It doesn't make it any less sad or frustrating. Possibly this is the case because the second story requires people to act, instead of merely react. Feeling an emotion in response to the former story was natural, but required no follow-up on the part of the reader, whereas a response to the second story might then require one to ask, "So what do I do?" And that can just be too darn uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, this is sometimes what happens when we focus more on nuns doing charity than on mindless killing and destruction. Personally, I'd rather see more bank robberies:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&e=3&u=/ap/bush_religious_groups