Vatican newspaper: ‘post-truth’ media are constructing image of ‘progressive and permissive Pope’

December 29, 2017

In a front-page L’Osservatore Romano op-ed, Italian historian Lucetta Scaraffia wrote that relativism, which the Church has had to confront in recent decades, has given way to the phenomenon of “post-truth,” which is more difficult to confront because it is “elusive and pervasive.”

Citing the French historian Marcel Guachet, Scaraffia described “post-truth” as “the adulterous daughter of the politically correct.”

Scaraffia, a frequent contributor to the Vatican newspaper, said that “post-truth” media are constructing the “image of a progressive and permissive Pope” by quoting Pope Francis out of context, emphasizing these quotations in headlines, and passing over statements that are “consistent with Christian tradition.” Social media are also circulating Spanish-language speeches that are falsely attributed to the Pontiff.

The effect, said Scaraffia, is that Pope Francis is portrayed as “ever more revolutionary and unpredictable,” while the Roman Curia is “obviously demonized.”

While the Pope’s texts are readily available for those who wish to read them, “very few do so because the majority blindly entrust themselves to the media.”

 

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Further information:

• Dopo il relativismo la post-verità (L’Osservatore Romano)