Vatican City, Sep 22, 2016 / 16:05 pm
Emphasizing the importance of respect for human dignity, Pope Francis told journalists Thursday that their profession can never be used as a destructive weapon, nor should it be used to nourish fear.
"Certainly criticism is legitimate, and, I would add, necessary, just as is the denunciation of evil, but this must always be done respecting the other, his life, and his affect. Journalism cannot become a 'weapon of destruction' of persons or even nations," the Pope said Sept. 22 at the Vatican's Clementine Hall.
"Neither must it nourish fear in front of changes or phenomena such as migration forced by war or by hunger."
He was meeting with Italy's National Council of the Order of Journalists, and he commented that "there are few professions which have such influence on society as does journalism. The journalist has a role of great importance, and at the same time a great responsibility. In a certain sense you write the 'first draft of history' … introducing persons to the meaning of events."