VATICAN CITY: The Vatican today, May 29, urged the Catholic faithful, and particularly Bishops, to be “reflective, not reactive” on social media, issuing guidelines to try to tame the toxicity on Catholic Twitter and other social media platforms and encourage users to instead be “loving neighbours.” 

In response to inquiries it has received for years concerning a more Christian-centered use of social media and the dangers that come with the advent of fake news and Catholic Twitter, the Vatican's communications office published a "pastoral reflection" that explains these issues.

The Holy See has provided such viewpoints on many facets of communications technologies for decades, encouraging the opportunities for encounters they present but cautioning of the dangers. Pope Francis has recently issued numerous warnings about the danger of young people being so dependent on their phones that they stop making in-person friends.

The new report emphasises the potential for splits to be seeded on social media and the danger of users sticking to their "silos" of like-minded thinking and rejecting others who have opposing viewpoints. Exchanges resulting from these tendencies "can cause misunderstanding, exacerbate division, incite conflict, and deepen prejudices," the statement stated.

It stated that these troubling interactions are especially concerning "when it emanates from church leadership: bishops, pastors, and prominent lay leaders. These not only divide the community, but they also give other people the go-ahead to spread similar types of messages, the message said.

The remark appeared to be addressed to the English-speaking Catholic Twittersphere, where a number of well-known Catholics, including bishops, frequently get into contentious discussions or polemical arguments that attack Francis and his beliefs.

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