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Good morning. I’m not sure when I first heard the term “fake news” but it’s quickly become part of the lexicon. Recently I was asked why the Church had not spoken out about fake news. I said I thought “thou shalt not bear false witness” covered it. The ninth commandment has not lost its relevance down the centuries. Fake news only has currency if we are willing to believe conspiracies and fantasies. Although our age is sometimes described as sceptical and unbelieving that’s far from evident, especially on social media. Perhaps credulity is more characteristic of the human condition than we like to think. Recently I saw “Jackie”, the film in which Natalie Portman gives such a compelling performance as Jacqueline Kennedy in the week after her husband’s assassination. It reminded me of a visit to Dallas and to the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. From there Lee Harvey Oswald shot the President. Nowadays it’s home to a moving and rather restrained museum dedicated to JFK’s life and legacy and to what happened on that day. On my return to England I mentioned to someone how impressed I was by this sombre and effective commemoration. I was chided for my gullibility. Surely I didn’t believe Oswald shot the President? This man then expounded one of the many complex conspiracy theories which are still circulating. No rational discussion was possible. His belief was invincible. I came away from that conversation not so much doubting whether Oswald did it but pondering the phenomenon of belief itself. Religious believers of all traditions are used to being accused of basing their lives on a falsehood, of believing a version of fake news. Even those sympathetic to religion can find certain beliefs such as the resurrection of Christ problematic or challenging. There’s plenty of discussion to be had about the validity and truth of religious beliefs. Within Christianity the keenest of these debates take place within the Church herself. But there’s also the saying “by your fruits ye shall know them”. Fake news seems designed to increase our suspicion and distrust of one another. It can promote division and even hatred. The word “gospel” means good news. A teaching which encourages us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us and to turn the other cheek should increase human happiness and well-being. Religion goes wrong when it does what fake news does and is used to add to the sum total of human distress. Perhaps the best way of countering the impact of fake news is to cherish good news wherever we find it.