Andrea Tornielli: Lack of
compassion is an attitude
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| Pope Francis addresses the bishops of Central America.(Vatican Media) |
Vatican News’ Editorial Director comments on the Pope’s
remarks to the Bishops of Central America regarding a lack of compassion in the
Church and some media outlets.
By Seàn-Patrick Lovett
The Editorial Director of Vatican News, Andrea
Tornielli, is travelling with Pope Francis in Panama. On Thursday, he was
present at the Pope’s meeting with the Bishops of Central America and found the
Holy Father’s unscripted remarks to the Bishops regarding “a lack of
compassion…even in Catholic media”, particularly thought-provoking.
Compassion
Pope Francis was referring to a much broader issue: “the
centrality of compassion” with regard to evangelization. The timing of the
Pope’s comments, however, was important: Thursday was the Feast of St Francis
de Sales, Patron Saint of journalists.
“The compassion of Christ has lost a central place in the
Church”, Pope Francis told the Bishops. Then, going beyond his prepared
remarks, the Pope added: “even in Catholic media there is a lack of
compassion”.
Judgment
In an editorial published on the Vatican News website,
Andrea Tornielli describes the Pope’s words as “a photograph which,
unfortunately, is plain for all to see: the spread, even among media that
claims to be Catholic, of wanting to judge everyone and everything”.
In an interview with Vatican News, Tornielli elaborates
further on why he believes Pope Francis made these comments in the first place:
“He was speaking about the lack of compassion in the Church
as well, and he focused his attention on the media because we have some
Catholic media that judge people, they don’t use mercy, they don’t use
compassion. This is a problem because the attitude of Jesus is totally
different: His is to be near to people with compassion and mercy”.
The problem
“The problem is not about criticizing the Pope”, continues
Tornielli. “The problem is about criticizing everyone who doesn’t agree with
you. It’s a different attitude: you are judging the world from your position,
especially your brothers and sisters in faith. This is a typical attitude of
our time and is one where the social media system plays an important role”.
The solution
The solution, says the Editorial Director of Vatican News,
is for everyone to do their job the best way they can. The answer, he
concludes, is “professional journalism”.
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