On the feast of the Immaculate Conception yesterday (December 8, 2009), Pope Benedict XVI had some stern words on the role of the mass media in our everyday lives in this information age, according to the National Catholic Register website.
"Every day, in the newspapers, television, and radio, evil is told to us, said again, amplified, so that we get used to the most horrible things and become desensitized," the Pope said at the Spanish Steps in Rome.
The Holy Father added, "In a certain way, it poisons us, because the negative is never fully cleansed out of our system but accumulates day after day. The heart hardens, and thoughts become gloomy. For this reason, the city needs Mary, whose presence speaks of God, reminds us of grace's victory over sin, and makes us hope even in the humanly most difficult situations."
The Pope concluded his address saying, "The border between good and evil runs across everyone's heart, and none of us should feel entitled to judge others. Instead, each one of us must feel duty-bound to improve ourselves. Mass media make us feel like 'spectators,' as if evil only touched others and that certain things could not happen to us. Instead, we are all 'actors,' for better or worse, and our behavior influences others."
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