The Pope has chosen this theme: “The truth will set you free,” or World Communications Day 2018. In line with this is the Pope’s statement that proselytising is a grievous sin. Communication control is high on his agenda as the Pope in 2016 met with all the major media heads. He went on to say fake news can have “repercussions at the level of individual and collective behaviour.”
His statement comes at the same time as that of Carlo Capella a vatican diplomat sought on charges of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography. ‘Capella has diplomatic immunity, meaning he can’t be prosecuted in the US. The Vatican refused a request to strip Capella of his immunity, and said it was investigating the case. He is also wanted in Canada on child pornography offenses.
International clergy and lay scholars accused Pope Francis of propagating “heresies” regarding marriage, the moral life, and the reception of the sacraments, which tradition-minded theologians insist the pontiff has ‘directly or indirectly upheld.”