The Pope Francisco publishes his new book, “Vi chiedo in nome di Dio” (“I ask you in the name of God”), in which he calls for communication “that avoids hate speech“, is in favor of a policy with “humility and austerity” and demands that society “not clip the wings” of women and make their professional development compatible with motherhood.
The work, edited by the Italian Piemme and which constitutes the Pope’s assessment of his “first almost ten years” of the pontificate that he will fulfill in March, is structured in “ten requests in the name of God” that Jorge Bergoglio does for “a future of hope” and in which he reviews various social, political, economic and religious axes.
In the book, the Pope dedicates one of his ten requests to “a communication that combats fake news and avoids hate speech”.
“It is important to take all the necessary measures so that hate speech, grooming and political manipulation do not increase, often based on the fragility and vulnerability of people as well as the social situation. Dialogue and social friendship also imply public policies capable of minimizing the threats generated by the culture of fake news”, he states in the work.
“It is important to take all the necessary measures so that hate speech, grooming and political manipulation do not increase, often based on the fragility and vulnerability of people as well as the social situation. Dialogue and social friendship also imply public policies capable of minimizing the threats generated by the culture of fake news”
For Francisco, “another aspect to look at with concern in today’s societies is the proliferation of hate speech, especially on social networks or in new formats that guarantee anonymity.”
“I know that it has always been sought to preserve the network and its spaces as a place of the broadest freedom of expression, but the growth of expressions that only seek attack and disqualification forces us to rethink some of the historical postulates on which what we now know generically as the Internet was built”, he deepens.
According to the pontiff, “many media are already aware of the attacks and hate speech that proliferate among those who visit their sites and take measures to restrict or eliminate publications in certain news.”
With a critical tone, Francisco then maintains that “these hate speeches, whether in networks or traditional media, seem to bring to the surface some behaviors that were believed to be eradicated.”
The Social Doctrine of the Church
Throughout the book, the pontiff returns to the tradition of the Social doctrine of the church and to the teaching of his predecessors to give his vision on ten central issues for humanity, while opening the doors to a future “of hope” in the face of the next Jubilee called for 2025.
Thus, in another section of the book, the Pope cites Saint Paul VI and once again considers Politics “with a capital P” as the “highest form of charity” and asks for “an extra degree of honesty and commitment with transparency” to whoever gets involved in the activity.
“We are not talking about them being supermen or superwomen, but simply raising the bar a little so that the leaders who dedicate themselves to this service, as we called it before, live it with a strong sense of austerity and humility”Francis proposes.
“It is not illegal for a human being to feel attracted by money, first class travel, mansions. But I call for only those who can get ahead with sobriety and austerity in their day to day to get involved in Politics”, add.
The political situation
Speaking of the current political situation, in line with what was expressed in his 2020 Fratelli tutti encyclical, Francis also considers that “it is becoming more and more difficult to find exchanges of ideas with respect” because “the climate of ‘campaign permanent’ that runs through modern democracies turns politicians into machines for repeating gimmicky slogans without real exchanges with their adversaries”.
In the book, in addition to reiterating his classic concerns about caring for the environment and the situation of migrants, the pontiff focuses on the need to achieve greater “participation” of women in society.
“In order for us to reach true equality, it is not enough just to stop physical violence against women. There is still a long way to go from the level of rights, especially economic rights,” the pontiff maintains in one of his requests “in the name of of God”.
“Although the role of women is extremely important in the running of a home, the solution is not to cut off her wings so that she can dedicate herself to taking care of her family, but rather the State should guarantee maternity leave policies and incentives so that Bringing a child into the world is not synonymous with losing a job or seeing their professional careers harmed,” the Pope proposes.
