In a message from Pope Francis on World Communications Day, January 24, 2019 he wrote:
“Today’s media environment is so pervasive as to be indistinguishable from the sphere of everyday life. The Net is a resource of our time. It is a source of knowledge and relationships that were once unthinkable. However, in terms of the profound transformations technology has brought to bear on the process of production, distribution and use of content, many experts also highlight the risks that threaten the search for, and sharing of, authentic information on a global scale. If the Internet represents an extraordinary possibility of access to knowledge, it is also true that it has proven to be one of the areas most exposed to disinformation and to the conscious and targeted distortion of facts and interpersonal relationships, which are often used to discredit.”
These are very timely words, and increasingly people are using media and the fake news often presented by it, to harm rather than to do good. The issue of the Covington High School video is an example of how people make rash judgments and choose negativity rather than to look for the truth and to show charity.
#2478 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, drawing from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, reminds us:
“To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way. Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another’s statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the other understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.”
If God looks upon us and seeks the good from us, should we not try to do the same? How often we focus on the negative. 27% of people will tell others about something negative that happened to them, whereas only 3% will tell others about something positive that occurred. Maybe we can all learn to be a little more positive and grateful and not so quick to condemn and spread negativity.
God bless,