Days after defending a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for Vatican-acknowledged child sex abuser, Rev. Fernando Karadima, Pope Francis is back in the news casting a spotlight on the real enemy: fake news.
In a radio interview from Chile last Thursday, Pope Francis defended Bishop Juan Barros, who was accused by victims of disgraced Rev. Fernando Karadima of covering up for the reverend's crimes. In a rare case of vindication for victims of the Catholic church, the Vatican convicted Karadima of pedophilia and abuse of his position in 2011, sentencing him to "a life of penitence and prayer." Although the victims' claims about Karadima were found credible enough to lead to his conviction, Pope Francis is not convinced about the same victims' claims about Barros, who looked up to Karadima as his mentor.
Francis is quoted as saying "there is not one shred of evidence against [Barros]... There is not a single proof against him, everything is slander."
Perhaps irked by the outpouring of negative press he immediately received after making those controversial comments, the Pope has penned a document delving into the dangers of "fake news" and its origins in the Garden of Eden.
Alluding to the snake tempting Eve with humanity's first "fake news" about the dangers of eating the fruit of Knowledge, Francis writes, "We need to unmask what could be called the ‘snake-tactics’ used by those who disguise themselves in order to strike at any time and place." He goes on to say that those who might share or retweet fake news become "unwilling accomplices in spreading biased and baseless ideas."
I assume he means "baseless ideas" like the credible accusations against Bishop Barros in Chile.
Is the Pope implying that the Vatican has authority to deem news credible or "fake"?
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