Vatican Caught Lying to Media about Pope Francis

Vatican Caught Lying to Media about Pope Francis

Vatican Caught Lying to Media about Pope Francis

Modified a photo of former Pope Benedict speaking about Pope Francis

The Vatican does not allow independent media for many pictures they take. They use their own media which has recently been consolidated under the Secretariat for Communications.

Vatican Caught Lying to Media about Pope Francis[/tweetthis]

Therefore, their lying to the media is particularly erroneous. The point of contention is a photo taken of a letter former Pope Benedict wrote about current Pope Francis. The photo was blurred out to change the essence of the letter. In the document, Benedict appeared to be showing support for the religious writings of Pope Francis, calling out critics for “foolish prejudice.”

However, this is not what the letter exactly said. The parts blurred out said Benedict had not read the writing and was focusing on different projects. AP News declared this was a significant enough change to the original message that it violated journalistic integrity.

The letter was released the night of the five year anniversary of Pope Francis’s ascension. While the Vatican has not explained why the letter was obfuscated, it could be because of the difference between the two popes and rumors that they are not even on speaking terms.

Pope Benedict was viewed as more of a conservative pope who focused on anti-Communist efforts, while Pope Francis has been seen to be more radical in terms of speaking out on issues of social justice. Even their styles of communication were different with Pope Francis identified as less formal, more open, and more relatable to the general public.

In a moment of irony, the Catholic Church and Pope Francis have called out “fake news” as being dangerous and evil.

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