The Pope warned of the dangers of cancel culture

 

 On Monday, Pope Francis warned against the cancel culture, condemning "one-way thinking" and, he said, attempts to deny or rewrite history by today's standards, reports Reuters.

Francis commented on the diplomatic corps, which focused on condemning "groundless" ideological misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, supporting national immunization campaigns and making healthcare a moral obligation.

 He spoke of the crisis of confidence in multilateral diplomacy, which he said had led to "an agenda increasingly driven by thinking that rejects the natural foundations of humanity and the cultural roots that make up the identity of many peoples".

Last month, the second person in the Vatican, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, expressed concern over a draft European Union communication handbook proposing not to use the term Christmas.

The handbook, which the Vatican saw as an attempt to undo Europe's Christian roots, was later withdrawn for revision.

 In a speech Monday, Francis warned of "a form of ideological colonization that leaves no room for freedom of expression and is now taking the form of a cancel-culture that is invading many circles and public institutions."

He used both words in English in the midst of a long speech in Italian. The controversy over cancel culture is particularly acute in English-speaking countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

It risks annulling the identity "under the guise of protecting diversity," Francis said, adding that a kind of "one-way thinking" is being formed, forced to deny history or, worse, rewrite it from today's perspective.

 There have been conflicts in the United States over the removal or beheading of statues of historical figures such as Christopher Columbus and St. Junipero Serra.

Serra, a Spanish Franciscan, founded a chain of missions in 18th-century California that preceded the country's infrastructure.

In addition to removing statues, some have called for a change in the names of institutions such as schools and hospitals named after historical figures, saying they have played a role in the destruction of Native American cultures.

 Although the pope did not mention any specific examples of cancel-culture, he said that any historical situation should be interpreted in the context of its time, not by today's standards.