POPE

Pope: Communication needs to be 'kind and prophetic' to disarm conflict

Meeting members of the Association of German Catholic Journalists, Pope Francis highlights the role of Catholic communicators in providing truthful information while not fueling conflict, even within the Church.

By Lisa Zengarini

Pope Francis on Thursday welcomed to the Vatican a 30-person delegation of the Association of Catholic Journalists in Germany (Gesellschaft Katholischer Publizisten Deutschlands - GKP) celebrating its 75 years of foundation.

In his prepared remarks, which were handed out to those present in the Consistory Hall, Pope Francis encouraged the German journalists to pursue the longstanding engagement of their association in promoting ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, peace, freedom, and human dignity, which has been its mission since its onset in 1948.

Prophetic communication in the Church

The Pope noted that these objectives are particularly relevant in today’s world, where many conflicts are fuelled by fake news and inflammatory statements amplified by the media.

“It is even more important that you, strongly rooted in your Christian faith, ‘demilitarized’ in your heart by the Gospel, support the disarmament of the language," he said, highlighting the need, especially in the Church, for "kind and at the same time prophetic" communication.

“This is fundamental: promoting manners of peace and understanding, building bridges, being available to listen, and practicing respectful communication towards others.”

German Synodal Path

Pope Francis then turned his thoughts to the German Synodal Path (Synodale Weg), the reform process launched in 2019 by the Church in Germany, which has brought about several doctrinal concerns (also expressed by the Pope himself) over its possible consequences for the unity of the Church, also in light of the parallel 2021-2024 Universal Synodal Process.

The Pope recalled two crucial aspects he highlighted in his 2019 Letter to the Pilgrim People of Germany on this issue: the centrality of the Holy Spirit in ecclesial renewal and “the universal and Catholic dimension“ of the Church, "so as not to conceive faith life as something relating only to one's own cultural and national context."

“The care for the spiritual dimension, that is, the concrete and constant adaptation to the Gospel and not to the models of the world, rediscovering personal and community conversion through the Sacraments and prayer, docility to the Holy Spirit and not to the spirit of the time.”

In light of this, Pope Francis stressed the “precious role” of Catholic communicators in “providing correct information," thus “helping mutual understanding and not conflict.”

He further insisted on the missionary dimension of the Church “using the means and possibilities available today," warning that “a Church that is mainly concerned with herself becomes ill with self-referentiality.”

Catholic communicators cannot be "neutral"

Catholic communicators, the Pope stressed, “cannot help but become involved and remain, so to speak, ‘neutral’ with respect to the message they transmit."

Wrapping up his address, Pope Francis also invited the German Catholic journalists to draw public attention to the poor, migrants and refugees, and all those who live on the margins of our opulent societies, including Germany.

“We need communicators who highlight the stories and faces of those to whom few or no one pays attention,” he said.

Therefore, the Pope concluded, “when you communicate, always think of the faces of people, especially the poor and simple, and start from them, from their reality, from their tragedies and hopes, even if doing so means going against the grain."

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