Pope lays out roadmap for media reporting

Many Catholics often express concern for the way the “mainstream media” covers news concerning Catholics and their faith, as well as Christians in general. 

The talk that Pope Francis delivered to members of the Corallo Association, an Italian radio and television network, on March 22 is worthy of consideration by members of the media at all levels. 

The Holy Father first delivered a formal address to the group in which he likened them to a “net”. Like the first disciples who were fishermen and worked with nets, which Jesus called to be “fishers of men” (Mt 4:19), members of the media too can be “fishers of men,” the pope said. The media can also ask themselves the question posed by God to Elijah on Mount Horeb, ‘Why are you here?’ (1 Kings 19:9-13), “so that it can speak to the men and women who are looking for a word of hope and reassurance for their lives.”

Referencing remarks by St. John Paul II in his 1994 message on World Communications Day, the pope called their attention “to issues that are important for the lives of individuals, families and society; and treating these issues not in a sensationalistic manner, but rather responsibly, with sincere passion for the common good and for the truth.” These issues, the pope said, are often addressed, “without due respect for individuals and the values in question, in a spectacular way.” People’s stories should be respected and never made self-serving instruments of the media.

In extemporaneous remarks, Pope Francis spoke frankly of his concerns with media reporting. He called upon the media to seek the truth, but not only truth; “truth, goodness and beauty, the three together.”

“Your work ought to unfold along these three paths: the path of truth, the path of goodness and the path of beauty. But that truth, goodness and beauty, which are consistent, that come from within, that are human,” Pope Francis said. “And along the path of truth, along these three paths we can encounter errors…take care not to become an intellectual without intelligence…take care not to become an ethicist without goodness…take care not to do what is often done…masking beauty, looking for cosmetics to create an artificial beauty that does not exist. Truth, goodness and beauty as they come from God and are present in man. And this is the work of the media…”

The pope said there are many virtues of the media, but there are also sins of the media. “Allow me to speak a little about this,” Pope Francis said. “In my view, the sins of the media, the gravest, are those that go along the road of lies and falsehood, and there are three: misinformation, calumny and defamation. The last two are very grave, but not as dangerous as the first. 

“Calumny is a mortal sin, but one may clarify and come to know that it is calumny,” the Holy Father explained. “Defamation is a mortal sin, but one can arrive at saying ‘this is an injustice, because this person did that a long time ago, but he repented, he changed his life.’ But misinformation is telling only half of the story, the half that is more convenient for me, and not telling the other half. And so the person who is watching TV or listening to the radio cannot judge correctly, because he doesn’t have all of the facts and they are not given to him. Please flee from these three sins: misinformation, calumny and defamation.”

The pope urged members of the media to “help to form what Pope Benedict called a media ‘eco-system’, that is, an appropriate environment that maintains a just equilibrium between silence, words, images and sounds. Today there is much pollution, and even the media environment has its forms of pollution, its poisons. People know it, they perceive it, but then unfortunately they become accustomed to breathing in contaminated air from the radio and television, which is not healthy. Clean air needs to be circulated so that people might breathe freely and receive oxygen for mind and soul.”

All of this requires professionalism, Pope Francis said. 

Amen.