How should one deal with trolls on the internet? In the ever-evolving digital world, a senior Vatican communications official has offered advice for confronting the rise of online "trolls"—users who seek to sow discord.
"Do not feed them and do not encourage them on Twitter," said Paolo Ruffini, head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication. This attitude, he added, should be adopted both by those who are part of the Church and those who are not.
However, Ruffini sidestepped the question of what happens when these trolls are actually Catholic prelates using social media to criticize Pope Francis, stating that is a matter for the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops.
Ruffini was presenting a new, detailed Vatican document on the risks and benefits of social media and the attitude of Christians who use it. The document insists that platforms must be used to promote truth and community.
The document, published on May 29 and titled "Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media," covers everything from cyberbullying to AI, from disinformation to information overload and the growth of online tribalism. It aims to deepen reflection on Christian interaction with and on social media, given the increasingly significant role they play in the lives of many people.
Sister Nathalie Becquart, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops and a member of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication, emphasized the need for better formation in the digital world. She said that training for a just presence in the digital world is necessary today, not only in school education but in all pastoral centers, for pastors, and for sisters in communities.
The document encourages believers to be "weavers of communion" online, building new models of digital interaction based on trust, transparency, and inclusion. It warns Christians of various "pitfalls" along the "digital highways," noting that the internet and social media platforms present many challenges that must be addressed.
The Vatican highlighted that users are often reduced to "consumers and commodities," while tribalistic instincts are not only fostered but often encouraged. Many have been marginalized and wounded by the online environment.
Pope Francis himself addressed the issue in 2019 during a meeting with young people from Scholas Occurrentes, an educational project he began while still Archbishop of Argentina. He told the youth that when someone chooses to harass online, "the emptiness of the harasser's own identity is apparent. There is a need for them to attack in order to feel like a person."
For Christians, the question that must be asked is how they can help the online environment become "a place of sharing, collaboration, and belonging, based on mutual trust." For this to happen, social media users must have "a disposition to listen" and must interact "in the realization that the others we meet online are real people."
The Vatican stated that Christians must bring a "distinctive style" to social media, one based on the words and love of Jesus Christ, who taught believers that "truth is revealed in communion, and that communication also comes from communion—that is, from love."
"We need to rebuild digital spaces so that they become more human and healthier environments," said the Vatican, adding that Christians must also help shape the digital sphere so that it is capable of fostering "true communities based on that embodied encounter which is indispensable for those who believe in the Word made flesh."
When an attitude of care and support is chosen, the Vatican said, Christians, whether they offer support or need it, can help heal "the wounds created by a toxic digital environment."
In the past, the Vatican has spoken out repeatedly against cyberbullying, launching an international observatory on the issue in 2018.
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Christians, the Vatican said, must bring a "distinctive style" to social media, based on the words and love of Jesus Christ, who taught believers that "truth is revealed in communion, and that communication comes from communion—that is, from love." A Christian's digital footprint should reflect an attitude that shares information creatively and builds friendship and community, using the online influence they have "responsibly."
It is necessary to rebuild digital spaces so that they become more human and healthier environments. Christians must help shape the digital sphere so that it is capable of fostering "true communities based on that embodied encounter which is indispensable for those who believe in the Word made flesh."