Pope Francis is praying especially for journalists this month – and wants others to join him.
On Tuesday, Vatican Radio reported that Pope Francis dedicated his monthly prayer intentions, or prayer requests, to journalists for the month of October.
In a video produced by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network of the Apostleship of Prayer, the pontiff called for journalists to be “motivated by respect for truth and a strong sense of ethics” with a commitment to the “good of humanity and the planet.”
“Join me in this prayer request,” he added.
Pope Francis’ prayer petition comes after recently speaking to Italian journalists about their profession.
Last month, Pope Francis addressed the Italian National Council of the Order of Journalists and listed three crucial elements for their work: “To love the truth, to embody professionalism and to respect human dignity.”
Pope Francis stressed that there were few careers with “so much influence on society like that of journalism” which records the “first draft of history.”
But he also emphasized that with great power, comes great responsibility – and criticized gossip-based journalism.
“I have often spoken of rumors as ‘terrorism,’ of how you can kill a person with the tongue,” Pope Francis said, according to Crux Vatican correspondent Inés San Martín. “If this is valid for an individual person, in the family or at work, so much more it’s valid for journalists, because their voice can reach everyone, and this is a very powerful weapon.”
At the same event, Philip Pullella, Vatican reporter for Reuters, added that Pope Francis urged that journalism not be used as a "weapon of destruction against persons and even entire peoples" or to “foment fear before events like forced migration from war or from hunger."
In the past, the media have picked and chosen what to report on Pope Francis, especially when it comes to abortion and gender ideology.
