The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto Has Asked Us For a Retraction: A Response by Gregory C. Pappas

News broke of a lawsuit by the Greek Community of Toronto against the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto and like other media organizations, we chose to report it.

We conducted the usual research that we normally put into a story, which includes researching public documents and gathering any possible statements from both sides.

Getting the Metropolis’ side of the story and giving the Church a chance to respond to the allegations made in the lawsuit was important for our story, and important in keeping with our commitment to our journalistic principles and fairness.

We attempted to contact the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto via telephone before we published our story about the lawsuit, asking for comment and clarification on the contents of the said lawsuit.

I was told that “we will not be speaking to the media” and was abruptly hung up on by an individual at the Greek Orthodox Metropolis offices. 

Upon further research for our original story, we did publish a statement by a Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto attorney that was published in a CBC story, categorically denying the allegations. We even linked to that original CBC story that included the attorney’s remarks.

The Greek Orthodox Metropolis has asked for media organizations to “retract” the “false allegations” made against the Metropolis and the Metropolitan.

As a point of clarification, the media– and in particular, The Pappas Post, published news of a lawsuit that made its way into the Canadian court system.

This particular media was only doing its job and reporting on breaking news that impacted tens of thousands of Greek Canadians living in the Greater Toronto Area.

The Pappas Post did not make the allegations. The Greek Community of Toronto made the allegations in a public document entered into a court of law.

Therefore, this media will continue doing its job and reporting the news from both sides and any “retractions” that need to be made should be between the Greek Community of Toronto and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis, in the legal system of Canada.

“The media” doesn’t make the news. “The media” only reports it and if they are up to journalistic standards, as we have tried to be when we publish such contentious stories, we have a responsibility to get both sides– which we attempted, but were hung up on by an individual at the Metropolis.

Therefore, in an open response to the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto, which is requesting a retraction from “the media,” we respond categorically that we have nothing to retract, as we were merely doing our job by attempting to present both sides of a very public story.

Unjustly demonizing the legitimate media is dangerous in a free society and the Metropolis of Toronto’s attempt to point the finger at “the media” and ask for retractions of “false allegations” need to remember who is making the allegations and who the retractions– if the allegations are false– should come from.

Your Eminence and individuals at the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto, we don’t make the news. We only report it.

This website remains open to speak to anyone who officially represents the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto.

In keeping with our own standards of publishing all sides of a contested story, we have already published in full, the official response by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto here.

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