Pope Encourages Journalists to Focus on Communicating the Truth
In a recent meeting in the Sala Clementina with members of the International Association of Journalists Accredited to the Vatican, Pope Francis spoke about communicating the truth as the ultimate job of the journalists. Journalists need to base their work “on the solid rock of responsibility in truth, not on the fragile sands of gossip and idealogical readings,” said Pope Francis.
Although he was directly addressing journalists whose everyday job is to communicate news about the pope and the Vatican bureaucracy, the same might apply to the Order’s communicators in the various parts of the world.
The pope spoke of journalism as a vocation, “a bit like that of a doctor, who chooses to love humanity by curing its illnesses.” A journalist “chooses to touch with their hand the wounds of society and the world” in order to bring them to light. He told the journalists not to “hide reality, even its miseries,” and that while they should not downplay tensions in the Church, neither should they make “unnecessary clamor.”
He suggested that the journalists not stop at the “appearance” of events in the Church but to move to the “substance that does not seek to conform to the superficiality of stereotypes and readily made formulas of information.”
Journalists accredited to the Vatican are commonly referred to as “vaticanisti.” Quoting a long time vaticanista, the pope said, “In so many years of Vaticanism, I have learned the art of seeking and narrating stories of life, which is a way of loving humanity [...]. I have learnt humility. I have encountered many men of God who have helped me to believe and to remain human. So, I can only encourage those who want to venture into this journalistic specialization.”
There are approximately 150 journalists accredited to the Vatican. Many members of the organization travel with the pope when he visits other countries. Other journalists might be accredited in order to cover certain events—like the recent synod. As is his custom, the pope greeted each of the attendees at the end of the audience.
