A imagem do Papa Francisco nas revistas semanais: análise da cobertura da Jornada Mundial da Juventude no Brasil

Abstract

This study analyzes the image of Pope Francis constructed by the weekly magazines Carta Capital, Veja, and Época during the World Youth Day held in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. This was also the year of the resignation of the predecessor pontiff, Benedict XVI, and the election of Francis to the papacy, amidst a historical context of corruption cases in the Vatican, pedophilia cases, Interreligious diplomatic crises. These marks in history brought instability to the ideological structure of the Catholic Church, which, for this reason, became the target of criticism from the media and faithful who disagreed with the conservative stances of the then Pope. Immersed in this reality, the Brazilian edition of the event was led by the new ecclesiastical management and received intense media coverage, which captured and disseminated Francis's sympathy and simple words to the entire globe. From a discursive perspective, we analyze how the magazines constructed the ethos of Pope Francis. Thus, a discursive analysis is carried out based on studies from the Franco-Brazilian tradition, including Pêcheux (1997), Orlandi (2007), Courtine (2008, 2009, 2011, 2013), and Maingueneau (2004, 2015). We mobilized the concepts of Discursive Formation, Intericonicity, Discursive Memory / Interdiscourse, Conditions of Production, and Ethos. Thus, we identified that the media discourse constructed a narrative of renewal within the Church, and the religious leader was portrayed as a charismatic, humble, and innovative figure who fights for the less fortunate.