Villegas hits ‘highly technological’ fake news, columnist gossip

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas has condemned the proliferation of fake news on social media, calling it a big challenge to the Catholic Church’s mission to proclaim its teachings.

In his homily during the canonical installation of Archbishop Gilbert Garcera as head of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Villegas on Saturday urged churchmen to stand their ground and “proclaim the truth nevertheless” amid what he called “highly technological” fake news.

READ: Bishops have become ‘martyrs’ in social media—Villegas

“Columnist gossip and fake news had become highly technological, and even if there is so much more than truth in our society, proclaim the truth nevertheless, archbishop,” Villegas said at San Sebastian Cathedral last April 22.

“It is no longer the pagans who killed Christians. It is our own brothers and sisters, Christian believers of Christ who caused the death of one another,” he added.

Villegas, who is also the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), also called on bishops and the faithful to defend church teachings on the sanctity of life amid divisive public policies.

“But stand up for life nevertheless, archbishop; people shout separation of church and state (when) what they actually want is separation of god and man, stay with God, Archbishop Gilbert, and show us the face of God, and in a new ministry show us, teach us that there should no separation between God,” Villegas said.

“Kailangan muna tayong mamatay sa ating sarili, sa ating sariling pangarap, sa ating mga sariling pananaw upang ang pananaw lamang ni Kristo ang manaig,” he added.

Villegas, in his Easter message, earlier lamented that bishops have become “martyrs” and “punching bags” of trolls in social media, amid their criticisms of administration policies like the war on drugs and push to revive the death penalty. JE/rga