Pope Francis has sent a
message praising the Italian news agency SIR (Servizio
Informazione Relgiosa/Religious Information Service) in time for
the thirtieth anniversary of its foundation, Vatican News said
Monday.
The agency was founded in order to help better communicate
information relating to both religious and world affairs to the
Italian Catholic Church.
In his address the Pope began by reminding the workers of SIR
that "Thirty years is a long time, but it is not the end of the
line. Therefore, continue your work with the same novelty with
which your founding fathers have thought, and thereby brought
about a unique project, an instrument for information to connect
the Italian territories with each other and their Diocese's."
The Pope went on to note that the agency is an instrument of
socio-cultural communion between Italian Catholics.
Pope Francis praised the vision of the first president of
SIR, Mons Giusseppe Cacciami, who hoped that the agency would be
judged for its commitment to truth and impartiality when
reporting. The Pope suggested that Mons Cacciami's wishes are
particularly important today, as the world witnesses the rise of
"Fake news." He therefore exhorted the journalists of SIR to
"Continue to practice your profession, always tending towards
the truth, for that is the best antidote and most effective way
to combat falsity."
Towards the end of the message Pope Francis asked that
journalists become a voice for someone who has no voice
themselves. The Pope promised to accompany those journalists as
they take on this work, saying that he will always be willing to
listen to them and to build bridges within the communities in
which they work.
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