Contact: Kerry Beck, Catholic Answers, 619-387-7200

SAN DIEGO, April 30, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- From the moment of Pope Francis's election, the media have been misrepresenting his words and actions. It's gotten to the point that even faithful Catholics have begun to wonder what is true and what is false.

Some hope that Pope Francis will reverse the Church's teaching on abortion, contraception, divorce, homosexuality, and women in the priesthood. He has been portrayed as the progressive antidote to his hard-line predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.

Jimmy Akin, a writer and speaker for the San Diego-based ministry Catholic Answers, could not disagree more with the media's version of the new pope. And he plans to say so in a special presentation, "Pope Francis: The Man, the Myth, and the Media." Mr. Akin will deliver his talk at the Catholic Answers National Conference in San Diego, September 4-6. (Visit CatholicAnswersConference.com for complete details.)

"Anyone who has kept up with what Pope Francis has said and done so far will realize that we have a much more interesting pope on our hands than the caricature given to us by CNBC and Fox News," Akin said.

Akin has been a student not only of the Holy Father's first year in office but also of his career in Argentina. "Pope Francis's call to bring the Faith to the world, to meet people where they are, and to bring them to Christ is a message he has been delivering for his entire priesthood," said Akin.

"People will be startled when they understand what Pope Francis is actually doing and just how badly the media has twisted the story to suit its own agenda," he explained. "I look forward to cutting through the lies and distortions at this year's conference."

To enable as many people as possible to attend, Catholic Answers is offering a special discount of more than $100 per person for anyone who registers for the conference before May 31. Registration and information are available at CatholicAnswersConference.com.

Catholic Answers is the largest lay-run apologetics and evangelization organization in the English-speaking world. Learn more about its work at Catholic.com.