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What does it mean to be a professional journalist
who is Catholic?
On Friday, 6 December, the Holy Father greeted the Members of the International Catholic Union of the Press on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Union. Last year, the Union gathered 1080 journalists from 106 countries.
The Holy Father congratulated them on their anniversary and raised the question, "what does it mean to be a professional journalist who is Catholic?
Quite simply, it means being a person of integrity, an individual whose personal and professional life reflects the teachings of Jesus and the Gospel. It means striving for the highest ideals of professional excellence, being a man or woman of prayer who seeks always to give the best that they have to offer. It means having the courage to seek and report the truth, even when the truth is inconvenient or is not considered "politically correct'. It means being sensitive to the moral, religious and spiritual aspects of human life, aspects which are often misunderstood or deliberately ignored. It means reporting not only the misdeeds and tragedies that take place, but also the positive and uplifting actions performed on behalf of those in need: the poor, the sick, the handicapped, the weak, those who are otherwise forgotten by society. It means offering examples of hope and heroism to a world that is in desperate need of both".
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