Recent years has seen a tremendous growth in communications and news. Today events can be videoed by any bystander with a smart phone and sent out over the Internet with lightning speed. Twitter, Facebook and other means of social media allow every one of us the opportunity to share our opinions and viewpoints with anyone who is willing to read our postings. While that is in many ways a great benefit, it can also be abused. The growth of “fake news”, the deliberate spreading of rumors and falsehoods to try to intentionally hurt others, has also grown.
Even television networks, newspapers and other sources of information are no longer as well respected as they once were. More and more people admit to their mistrust of certain segments of the media and particular media outlets. Media outlets often slant their reporting of the truth to pander to the fears and prejudices of certain groups of readers or viewers. They tend to foster mistrust and suspicion of anyone who holds a differing viewpoint.
This was the back drop for Pope Francis’ Regina Caeli address last Sunday as he marked the 51st World Day of Social Communications. The theme for the day was “Do not be afraid I am with you: Communicating Hope and Trust in our Time.”
In his remarks Pope Francis used an image used by early Christians which compared the human mind to a constantly grinding millstone. He said the miller can feed good wheat or worthless weeds into the mill. Francis encouraged his listeners to, “Pray for communication, in all its forms, to be truly constructive, in the service of truth by refusing prejudices and by spreading hope and trust in our time.”
He also encouraged those involved in the media to share good news. He said that didn’t mean that the media should ignore human suffering but that they should not glamorize evil but instead “concentrate on solutions and inspire a positive and responsible approach on the part of its recipients.”
Francis used as an example of this type of reporting the good news of the gospels. He pointed out how Mark begins his report of the Good News by calling it, “the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God”. “With these words, Saint Mark opens his Gospel not by relating good news about Jesus, but rather the good news that is Jesus himself.” Francis says that good news is not good because it is without suffering but that the suffering Jesus endured is part of a bigger picture of Jesus’ love for the Father and all humankind. Jesus’ suffering reminds us that God is constantly mindful of his children and is always with us. Francis’ remarks remind us that in reporting the news and its consequences those in the media need to be “witnesses and communicators” of a new and redeemed humanity sharing God’s love even to the ends of the earth.
As we celebrate Pentecost and the renewal of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives this weekend, may we use our choice of media to promote not negative and hurtful communication but the positive progress of our society towards greater understanding of ways to promote the advancement of people and institutions that work towards the unity of people and the common good of all.