The Vatican's online access to
official papal texts and speeches free people from relying on media
coverage that may be manipulative or biased, said a top official in the
Vatican Secretariat of State.
People can go directly to the @Pontifex Twitter feed and the news.va
aggregator site to see exactly what the pope has said so "you can make
your own conclusions, because his words are often very different than
the way they are presented by certain media outlets," U.S. Msgr. Peter
B. Wells, assessor for general affairs, said Oct. 18.
The monsignor's remarks came in a rare Q-and-A encounter when he spoke
in a frescoed hall of the apostolic palace in front of an audience of
more than 300 benefactors of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican
Museums.
The benefactors, most from North America and Great Britain, were in Rome
for a weeklong celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of
the Patrons, whose network of local chapters raises money to preserve
and restore the museums' priceless collections.
Msgr. Wells gave brief introductory remarks explaining his and his
office's duties, then took questions from seven people in the audience.
The questions covered topics such as the curial reform process and
managing the pope's message.
Msgr. Wells is part of a new five-person pontifical commission that is
reviewing the activities and mission of the Vatican bank and is
president of a new Financial Security Committee, whose members share
responsibility for preventing and countering money laundering and
terrorism financing.
But in speaking about his work as assessor of general affairs, the
Tulsa, Okla., native said his department is "like a chief of staff
office for the pope," dealing with things like security issues and
communications.
The department's job is to help Pope Francis and his representatives
"have the ability to act freely in the world" and not be "impeded in
their ministry," especially in reaching out to the most marginalized, he
said.
In response to a question about how the department handles inaccuracies
and biases in the media's reporting on the pope, the monsignor said this
problem "is one of the reasons why our task with communications is so
complex."
He said every time a new pope is elected, "certain media outlets decide
what type of stamp they'll put on" the pope. "It's very difficult to
change that narrative," he said.
However, even though the different Vatican communications outlets and
their presence on social media "are small on resources, they're big on
impact."
The Vatican's expanded online presence, he said, has given the public
direct access to what the pope has said. "People no longer have to go
through filters to receive what the pope says."
While the media have been important and helpful in spreading information
about the church, it's also true people, including media outlets, may
put "a spin" on it, he said.
In response to other questions, Msgr. Wells confirmed the need to
immediately address and remedy problems in the curia and promote efforts
of reform.
But he also said "there's a large amount of misunderstanding" about what the Vatican is and does.
In his 20 years in Rome, 12 of them working at the Vatican, he said
"some of the holiest and most wonderful people I've ever met are working
at this institution -- people who are extremely dedicated" to serving
Jesus, the church and the Holy Father.
Just as Pope Benedict XVI's very humble nature made an impact on people
working in the Vatican, Pope Francis is leaving his mark, too, with what
the monsignor calls "a cultural change, a spiritual change."
"Since Francis has come, we are much more introspective" in that people
are more readily looking at how they act and interact with others and
asking: "how is this serving or is this serving" the church, he said.
He said he thinks of his work and the work of the other nearly 5,000
Vatican employees as "a ministry; we are ministers" and Pope Francis is
doing a lot to help promote that outlook.
One audience member said she has been amazed how Pope Francis has really
touched some people she knows who had distanced themselves from the
church.
She wanted the monsignor to know that "it's working, that people are
hearing the pope's message" and are re-engaging with the church, she
said to applause.
Msgr. Wells said, "One of the best things to happen to Vatican
communications in years is Pope Francis." Things changed "overnight"
with his open manner and the way he interacts with people.
What people notice the most, he said, is the pope's authenticity; "he walks the talk, he does what he says."
He's also inspiring people at the Vatican and in the entire church to
strive for authenticity, "to truly be Christians" and "to do what God
wants us to do," he said.