Pope asks journalists for help to communicate Synod

By Linda Bordoni

The “E’ Giornalismo” Award, established by a group of internationally-renowned Italian journalists in 1995, has been assigned to influent Italian press and TV personalities and journalists who have shaped the narrative of current affairs in Italy with objectivity, professionalism and creativity.

In a discourse to the delegation awarding him the prize on Saturday, 26 August, Pope Francis said that although he has always declined this kind of offer, he has chosen to accept this one to highlight “the urgency of constructive communication, which fosters the culture of encounter and not of confrontation; the culture of peace and not of war; the culture of openness to the other and not of prejudice.”

Fight disinformation

And then, he issued a call for help: “At a time when everyone seems to comment on everything, even regardless of the facts and often even before being informed,” he said, it is necessary to “cultivate the principle of reality, of facts.”

Disinformation, the Pope added, is one of the sins of journalism, of which there are four: “misinformation, when journalism does not inform or informs badly; slander (…); defamation, which is different from slander but destroys; and the fourth is coprophilia, that is, the love of scandal, of filth, scandal that sells.”

To combat disinformation, he continued, those who work in communications need to spread a culture of encounter, a culture of dialogue, a culture of listening to the other and his reasons.

He warned against the risks implicit in digital culture, which, he said, has brought us so many new possibilities for exchange, but risks turning communication into slogans.

No to steering public opinion with fake news

True communication, he said, is always based on giving the facts of both sides, and he expressed concern for “the manipulations of those who interestingly propagate fake news to steer public opinion.”

At a time in which Europe is experiencing the continuation of war in Ukraine, the Holy Father appealed, “Please, let us not give in to the logic of opposition, let us not be influenced by hate language.”

“My hope is that space will be given to the voices of peace, to those who strive to put an end to this as to so many other conflicts, to those who do not give in to the 'Cainist' logic of war but continue to believe, despite everything, in the logic of peace, the logic of dialogue, and the logic of diplomacy,” he said.

Reporting on the Synod

Finally, he looked ahead to the upcoming Synod on Synodality the Church is preparing to hold in October, and appealed to journalists to help the Church “rediscover the word together.”

“In just over a month, bishops and lay people from all over the world will meet here in Rome for a Synod on synodality: listening together, discerning together, praying together,” he explained, noting that the word ‘together’ is very important in a culture of exclusion.

Acknowledging that to speak of a "Synod on Synodality" may seem somewhat “abstruse, self-referential, excessively technical, of little interest to the general public,” the Pope said that what is happening with the Church’s synodal journey is something truly important for the Church.

“Please, let us get used to listening to each other, to talking, not cutting our heads off for a word. To listen, to discuss in a mature way. This is a grace we all need to move forward. And it is something the Church today offers the world, a world so often so incapable of making decisions, even when our very survival is at stake. We are trying to learn a new way of living relationships, listening to one another to hear and follow the voice of the Spirit,” he said.

Reiterating that synod participants want to contribute together to building a Church where everyone feels at home, where no one is excluded, Pope Francis reiterated his request “to the masters of journalism” for help to “tell this process for what it really is, leaving behind the logic of slogans and pre-packaged stories.”