Pope Francis has called on those working in media and communications to “offer the people of our time storylines that are at heart ‘good news’”.
In his annual message for World Communications Day, the Pope said the media’s focus on bad news led to a “vicious circle of anxiety” and “the idea that evil has no limits”.
“Moreover, in a communications industry which thinks that good news does not sell, and where the tragedy of human suffering and the mystery of evil easily turn into entertainment, there is always the temptation that our consciences can be dulled or slip into pessimism”, he said.
In the lengthy statement, Francis said that the lens through which we view the world is of paramount importance, and for Christians in particular, this should be the lens of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Seen through this lens, he said, “every new tragedy that occurs in the world’s history can also become a setting for good news, inasmuch as love can find a way to draw near and to raise up sympathetic hearts, resolute faces and hands ready to build anew”.
Referring to the growing problem of fake news, the Pope said communicators had a responsibility to engage in “constructive forms of communication...helping us all to view the world around us with realism and trust”.
Citing the mystical writings of St Cassian, he also said responsibility fell on consumers of news to make wise decisions about what to read: “Our minds are always 'grinding', but it is up to us to choose what to feed them”, he said.
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