Pope Begs Journalists to Avoid ‘Sins of Communication’

Pope Begs Journalists to Avoid ‘Sins of Communication’

NPR || By Miles Parks || 16 December 2017

Pope Francis, in speaking to a group of journalists Saturday, addressed the importance of a free and responsible press while also warning against falling « prey to the sins of communication. »

He was speaking to members of the Italian Periodical Press Union and the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies and said that in a field « dominated by the anxiety of speed, by the drive for sensationalism, » reliable information is at a premium.

« There is an urgent need for reliable information, with verified data and news, which does not aim to amaze and excite, but rather to make readers develop a healthy critical sense, enabling them to ask themselves appropriate questions and reach justified conclusions, » he said, according to the official speech log from the Vatican. « There is an urgent need for news communicated with serenity, precision and completeness, with a calm language, so as to favour a fruitful reflection; carefully weighted and clear words, which reject the inflation of allusive, strident and ambiguous speech. »

Sermonizing about the media isn’t uncommon territory for this pope. Last year, as NPR’s Bill Chappell reported, he called on journalists and media consumers to avoid « the sickness of coprophilia, » comparing a love of scandal to an abnormal interest in feces that can include elements of sexual arousal.

On Saturday, he spoke out about disinformation and slander, a theme he surely will continue next year at his World Communications Day speech. The Vatican announced the theme of the speech to be « fake news and journalism for peace. »

He will give the speech in May, but the text for what he will say is expected to be released in a few weeks.

« We must not fall prey to the ‘sins of communication’: disinformation that is, giving just one side of the argument slander, which is sensationalistic, or defamation, looking for outdated and old things, and bringing them to light today, » Francis said Saturday. « They are very grave sins, which damage the heart of the journalist and harm people. »

Source: NPR…