I have often wondered why so many people believe that whatever is printed is true simply because it is printed. In my youth I was taught by my Jesuit educators that “the pen is mightier than the sword”. As students, we were encouraged to write in the media to make sure that the truth prevailed because some journalists have a hidden agenda and want to influence others by sanctimon-iously projecting themselves as the guardians of the truth.

When I read recently that the Italian daily Il Quotidiano Nazionale was claiming that Pope Francis “has a small, curable brain tumour”, I immediately smelled a rat. I am not familiar with the political leanings of this little-known Italian newspaper, but I am becoming increasingly sceptical of the credibility of some journalists, including local ones, who seem to believe that they are infallible.

A very superficial scratching of the surface of what appears to be investigative journalism reveals no more than an amateurish attempt to promote an agenda that has nothing to do with informing the public in an objective way.

So why is the report on the Pope’s health so blatantly alarmist? Vatican politics can be diabolically confusing to ordinary people, especially Catholics whose sole interest is to live a good life built on evangelical principles. Pope Francis has so far been one of the few top people in the Catholic hierarchy who have spoken openly about the need for the Church to return to its roots and be of service to all men, especially to those who are most disadvantaged in life.

He is what in business management terms would be called “restructuring the organisation” he leads by promoting change so that the Church can truly be faithful to the mission given to it by its founder.

Pope Francis makes frequent statements about how political and business leaders should put man at the centre of their actions. He wants the Church to embrace those who do not fall within the definition of what previously was considered as normal: the divorced, homosexuals, refugees, as well as the unemployed. He wants the Church to engage in some deep soul-searching to see whether it is right to ignore the fast evolving realities of today’s society.

They want media followers to believe that he cannot be in his right senses

All this is making Pope Francis the target of arch-conservative clerical elements in the Church who through a network of media moguls and second-class journalists spin stories to subject the Pope to a ‘trial by innuendo’. Their deceitful intentions are obvious.

By claiming that the Pope has a brain tumour they want media followers to believe that he cannot be in his right senses when he appeals to his colleagues to change so that the Church can become more relevant to ordinary people.

The conservative bishops – who are often coy when it comes to speaking – openly resort to leaking false information to the media to undermine the liberal bishops who are supporting the Pope’s call for change. As rightly pointed out by Associated Press “several conservative bishops and cardinals are complaining that the family synod which Pope Francis called is creating confusion and anxiety about the Church’s teaching on marriage, sex, homosexuality and other issues”.

Scoop-hungry journalists, especially those who work for the printed media, are only too pleased to resort to muckraking to hold on to their jobs at a time when a large section of the public is fast losing their trust in most forms of media reporting. Some social media bloggers have become even more notorious at gutter journalism, resorting constantly to character assassination to promote their not-so-hidden personal agenda.

In a modern democracy the media have a very important role. Their mission will always be to promote the truth and keep the public informed on issues that may be quite obscure to ordinary people. But manipulative journalists who try to give the impression that they are infallible and try to occupy the moral high ground on the false pretence that they are the guardians of good political, social or religious governance are often no more than whitewashed tombs.

Education is the only antidote for such poisonous attacks on those whose only crime is to promote change in the organisations that they work for. Trust is a precious commodity that must not be wasted on those who are no more than ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’.

Pope Francis is the most conspicuous latest victim of media spin. He will not be the only one.

johncassarwhite@yahoo.com