Pope urges precise and
complete news reporting
Pope Francis was speaking to representatives of the Union of
Italian Periodical Press (USPI) and the Italian Federation of Catholic
Weeklies (FISC).
by Robin Gomes
Pope Francis has urged that "news be
communicated with serenity, precision and completeness, using a
calm language in favour of a fruitful reflection; thoughtful
and clear words, which reject the tempers of allusive, clamorous and ambiguous
speech, Pope Francis told representatives of Italian periodicals on
Saturday. “It is important that the criteria of judgment and information
are offered patiently and methodically so that public opinion is able to
understand and discern, and is not stunned and disoriented,” the Pope told some
350 members of the Italian Periodical Press Union (USPI) and
the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies (FISC) who met him
in the Vatican.
Reliable information close to reality
The Pope told them that they have a mission to inform
properly, to offer everyone a version of the facts as close as possible to
reality. “Your free and responsible voice,” he said, “is fundamental for
the growth of any society that wants to be called democratic, so that a
continuous exchange of ideas and a profitable debate based on real and
correctly reported data are assured.
The Pope observed that in our time that is often dominated
by the anxiety for speed, by the urge for sensationalism lacking
in precision and completeness, by overheated emotions in the place of
thoughtful reflection, the need for reliable information is urgently felt,
with verified data and news, that does not aim to amaze and excite, but rather
aims to create in readers a healthy critical sense, which allows
them to make appropriate questions and reach justified conclusions.
Respect for dignity of persons
The Holy father also urged that the right to information and
the dignity of every single human person be “scrupulously respected” so no one
risks being damaged in the absence of real and responsible circumstantial
evidence. He said, “There is no need to fall into the ‘sins of
communications’: misinformation, that is saying only a part which is calumny and
which is sensational, or defamation that seeks out things past and old and
bringing them to light today.” “They are very grave sins
that damage the heart of the journalist and damage the people,” the
Pope added.
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