Pope Francis Criticizes Fake News, Warns Against 'Sins of Communication'

Published December 17th, 2017 - 12:41 GMT
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St Peter's Square on Dec. 17, 2017, in the Vatican (Andreas SOLARO/AFP)
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St Peter's Square on Dec. 17, 2017, in the Vatican (Andreas SOLARO/AFP)

Pope Francis has criticized journalists who dredge up old scandals and sensationalize the news.

The head of the Catholic church denounced such actions as "very serious" sins that hurt all involved.

Francis, who plans to dedicate his upcoming annual communications message to "fake news," said yesterday that journalists perform a mission that is among the most "fundamental" to democratic societies.

But he reminded them to provide precise, complete and correct information and not to provide one-sided reports.

The pope said: "You shouldn't fall into the 'sins of communication': disinformation, or giving just one side, calumny that is sensationalized, or defamation, looking for things that are old news and have been dealt with and bringing them to light today."

He called those actions a "grave sin that hurts the heart of the journalist and hurts others."

 

 

This article has been adapted from its original source.

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