Despite his goal of promoting harmony between the faiths, Pope Benedict stuck firmly to what he saw as a gift of truth that he had been born into in his native Bavaria - namely that the Roman Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ and despite all its human imperfections, had the authority to define doctrine and make definitive statements about truth andfalsehood.
Last year it failed in its attempt to sue the BBC's Top Gear having claimed libel and "malicious falsehood" following the TV programme's 2008 review of its Roadster model.
His rather presciently subtitled 2008 book Flat Earth News: An Award-Winning Reporter Exposes Falsehood, Distortion and Propaganda in the Global Media is an excellent, compelling read.
As we explain below, the falsehood that GHG standards and fuel economy standards are unrelated gave the EPA legal cover to grant a waiver authorizing California to implement its own de-facto fuel economy program.
Is there anything you think that the media can or should do, or that campaigns can or should do to repair the damage from once a falsehood is broadcast or printed and repeated?
How could this wonderful oncologist, someone who I had learned to respect for her compassion and thoughtfulness, have spoken such a blatant falsehood to my nervous patient?