Reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated

Fake news hits the Vatican: Benedict XVI is dying!!!!!

Michael Cook | Oct 26 2017 | comment

I looked at my WhatsApp the other day and there were several messages with the same story: B16 was dying. Here is the text of one:

His Eminence, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household and personal secretary to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, asks the world to pray for the Holy Father. His Eminence states that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI “is like a candle which is slowly, serenely fading. He is serene, at peace with God, himself and the world. He is unable to walk without assistance and is no longer able to celebrate Mass.”

It was pious, heartfelt and eloquent; it had the dull thud of a dismal truth. However, why wasn’t this at the top of Google News and the front page of all newspapers? They might have ignored each and every one of his solid achievements in life, but never would they ignore his death.

But there was nothing there. Nothing at all. I had nearly been stung by a purveyor of Fake News. He may not be well, but he certainly is alive. In short order the Vatican released a photo of Papa Ratzinger taking a stroll, supported by two elderly nuns.

The lesson: if the latest news sounds unbelievable, perhaps it is. Check and double check.

What motivates people to create pious, heartfelt and eloquent lies? A lie is a lie is a lie. It’s a mystery.

Michael Cook is editor of MercatorNet.

October 26, 2017

Our lead article today comes from a blog with the daunting name of Engineering Ethics, but, as you might guess from the heading, the author is no ivory tower academic. Karl D, Stephan does have a perch in academe -- he is a professor of electrical engineering at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas -- but his view of the world is very wide and his ethical perspective very deep. If you have followed his many columns on our website you will know that he sees lots of connections between different events.

In today's piece he is driven by an offhand remark at a conference to contrast the approach of Big Pharma to healing, with the approach of Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity. This is not mere do-gooding rhetoric but a necessary reminder -- at a time when America seems all at sea about health care policy -- that there is more to medicine than money. He writes:

The work of the Missionaries of Charity has not led directly to the invention of a cure for any disease. It has not made anyone richer financially. But it has added to the store of human capital in the form of good works and examples of how to live.

If you haven't been reading Professor Stephan's columns I do recommend that you start now. They are both a pleasure and an education.