The Pope has called on journalists to be ‘communicators of hope’ in a world “characterised by disinformation and polarization”.
In a special message issued in eight languages this week, Pope Francis urged all those involved in communications “to give attention to beauty and hope even within the midst of apparently desperate situations” and to work to generate “commitment, empathy and concern for others”.
He said: “Too often today, communication generates not hope, but fear and despair, prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred. All too often it simplifies reality to impress instinctive reactions; it uses words like a razor; it even uses false or artfully distorted information to send messages designed to agitate, provoke or hurt.”
The Pope said that communications needed to be ‘disarmed’ and “purified of aggressiveness”. He added, “All of us see how – from television talk shows to verbal attacks on social media – there’s a risk that the paradigm of competition, opposition, the desire to dominate and possess, and the manipulation of public opinion will prevail.”
Pope Francis, who heads the world’s estimated 1.4 billion Catholics, issued his challenge ahead of the Church’s World Communications Day on June 1. This 12 months’s theme is ‘Share with Gentleness the Hope that’s in Your Hearts’.
He said to journalists and communicators, “In these our times, characterised by disinformation and polarization, as a couple of centres of power control an unprecedented mass of knowledge and data, I would really like to talk to you as one who’s well aware of the importance – now greater than ever – of your work as journalists and communicators.”
He called on journalists to speak hope, noting, “The hope of Christians has a face, the face of the risen Lord.” His gift of the Holy Spirit “enables us to hope even against all hope, and to perceive the hidden goodness quietly present even when all else seems lost”.
Christian communications, explained Pope Francis, “ought to be steeped in gentleness and closeness, just like the talk of companions on the road. This was the tactic of the best communicator of all time, Jesus of Nazareth, who, as he walked alongside the 2 disciples of Emmaus, spoke with them and made their hearts burn inside them as he interpreted events in the sunshine of the Scriptures.”
He said, “I dream of a communication capable of creating us fellow travellers, walking alongside our brothers and sisters and inspiring them to hope in these troubled times. A communication able to chatting with the center, arousing not passionate reactions of defensiveness and anger, but attitudes of openness and friendship.”
The Pope encouraged journalists to look out for ‘excellent news’ stories amongst a lot doom and gloom. He said, “I encourage you to find and make known the numerous stories of goodness hidden within the folds of the news, imitating those gold-prospectors who tirelessly sift the sand seeking a tiny nugget.”
He said, “Be meek and always remember the faces of other people; speak to the hearts of the ladies and men whom you serve in carrying out your work. Do not allow instinctive reactions to guide your communication. Always spread hope, even when it’s difficult, even when it costs, even when it seems to not bear fruit, and check out to advertise a communication that may heal the injuries of our humanity.”
The Pope encouraged journalists to “tell stories steeped in hope, be concerned about our common destiny and strive to write down together the history of our future”.
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
