Pope Leo XIV exhorted journalists to fact-check the news and show the true face of war.<\/p>\n
During a meeting with Italian journalists Monday at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV warned that news reporting \u201cmust guard against the risk of becoming propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n
When reporting on today\u2019s \u201cdramatic circumstances of war,\u201d the Holy Father urged news professionals to verify the news \u201cso as not to become a mouthpiece for those in power,\u201d a task that is \u201ceven more urgent and delicate \u2014 I would say essential.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also emphasized that journalists must report on the suffering that war inflicts upon the population as well as reveal its human face and relate it \u201cthrough the eyes of the victims, so as not to transform it into a video game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not easy in the few minutes of a news program and its in-depth segments. But this is the challenge,\u201d he told members of the Italian broadcaster RAI and the editorial team of its TG2 news program on March 16, on the occasion of the outlet\u2019s 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n
No technological innovation can replace creativity, critical discernment, and freedom of thought.<\/p>\n
In his address, the pope also reflected on the challenges that television journalism has faced, such as the transition from analog to digital systems. In this context, he noted that \u201cno technological innovation can replace creativity, critical discernment, and freedom of thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Holy Father addressed the \u201cchallenge of our time\u201d \u2014 artificial intelligence \u2014 and underscored the need \u201cto regulate communication according to the human paradigm and not the technological one,\u201d something that, in his view, means \u201cknowing how to distinguish between means and ends.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also highlighted laicity and pluralism as the traits that have characterized the Italian network. Specifically, he referred to laicity as \u201ca rejection of ideological preconceptions and as an open-minded view of reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know how difficult it is to allow ourselves to be surprised by facts, by encounters, by the gazes and voices of others; how strong the temptation is to seek out, see, and listen only to what confirms our own opinions. But there can be no good communication, nor true freedom and healthy pluralism, without this openness,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n
Finally, he invited journalists to promote diversity \u2014 animated by a spirit of friendship \u2014 \u201cin an age dominated by polarization, ideological closed-mindedness, and slogans that prevent us from seeing and understanding the complexity of reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story\u00a0was first published\u00a0by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n