MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chroncles, Manila Bureau) – Journalism based on gossip or rumors is a form of “terrorism,” Pope Francis told an Italian guild of national journalists Thursday.

The pope said that spreading rumors is an example of “terrorism, of how you can kill a person with your tongue”, he said. “This is even more true for journalists because their voice can reach everyone and this is a very powerful weapon.”

Reacting to the pope’s statement, a coalition of biased Philippine media issued a joint statement criticizing the head of the Roman Catholic Church.  The coalition members include ABS-CBN, GMA-7, Rappler and the Philippines Daily Inquirer.

In its statement, the coalition admonished Pope Francis, saying that “The Vatican should not be meddling in internal affairs of the Philippines and its media.  Does the Holy Father know about separation of church and state?”

The concerned media organizations denied they were “terrorists.” “We only report what we see with our own yellow eyes,” they said.

In addition to the news media, some netizens signed the statement, including Raissa Robles, Jim Paredes, Leah Navarro, Carlos Celdran and Cynthia Patag.