The Vatican on Monday urged high-profile Catholic bishops and lay leaders to tone down their comments on social media, saying some were causing division and fanning polemics that hurt the entire Church.
The appeal was part of a 20-page document from the Vatican’s communications department titled “Towards full presence. A pastoral reflection on the commitment to social networks”.
The document, addressed to all Catholics, warned of the dangers of fake news on social media and other forms of abuse that have turned people into commodities whose data is sold, often without their knowledge or consent.
He condemned the polarization and extremism that had led to “digital tribalism” on social media, saying people often locked into opinion silos that hampered dialogue and often led to violence, abuse and misinformation.
“The Christian style should be thoughtful, not reactive, on social media. Therefore, we must all be careful not to fall for the hidden digital traps in content that is intentionally designed to sow conflict among users by causing outrage or emotional reactions,” the document says.
“The problem of contentious and superficial, and therefore divisive, communication is particularly troubling when it comes from Church leadership: bishops, pastors and prominent lay leaders,” he said.
A number of conservative Catholic bishops and high-profile commentators, particularly in the United States, have criticized Pope Francis on Twitter, with some endorsing vicious far-right video attacks on the pontiff.
“Unfortunately, broken relationships, conflicts and divisions are not alien to the Church. For example, when groups that present themselves as ‘Catholic’ use their presence on social media to foment division, they are not behaving as a Christian community should,” the document says.
He said special attention should be paid to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in the coming years, urging Catholics to beware of machines «that make our decisions for us.»
In 2020, the Vatican joined forces with tech giants Microsoft and IBM to promote the ethical development of AI and call for regulation of intrusive technologies such as facial recognition.