Dominican Order

Communicating with hope: a jubilee of encounter, truth and fraternity

In my heart there is more hope after participating in various events of the Jubilee of the World of Communication. It has been a discovery of many communicators in the moments of prayer, the pilgrimage, the passing through the Holy Door, the Eucharists, the workshops and the audiences with Pope Francis. I believe that we are better when we are listened to, understood and well presented. Silence and listening have a range of nuances for effective communication and in the daily story of our lives.

Communication and evangelisation

Evangelisers shared their experiences and communication strategies to meet their audiences. Theological reflections, communication experts, influencers and great experiences strengthened confidence, inspired projects and encouraged further improvement in communicating the Gospel. 

Personally, I have participated in three seminars and I consider them to be of great value for those interested in reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of faith communication in contemporary times. From 22 to 24 January 2025, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross hosted the XIV Professional Seminar of Church Communication Offices, on the theme “Communication and evangelisation: context, attitudes, experiences”.

To be communicators of hope. Memorial of St. Francis de Sales (24 January)

The Pope’s Message for the 59th World Communications Day has been published for all the custodians of communication. For several years, the Pontiff has been calling for the promotion of a more humane communication: it is necessary to “disarm” communication, eliminating aggressiveness and manipulation, in order to promote dialogue and mutual understanding.

Enlightened by St. Peter, he advises: “Share with meekness the hope that is in your hearts” (cf. 1 Pet 3:15-16). The challenges go to the communicative vein in order to live the Jubilee better. This world needs testimonies that raise questions and open paths of encounter, that sow hope. We are communicators of a culture of care, empathy and trust. Hope is a community project that calls us to tell stories of good, to be witnesses of a communication that heals wounds and builds bridges. In other words, in the face of misinformation and polarisation, journalists and communicators have an essential role to play in building responsible communication committed to truth and the common good.

Opening of the Jubilee of the World of Communication in the Basilica of St. John Lateran (24 January)

Communication experts made a pilgrimage to this Basilica in search of the communicative matrix. Some were broadcasting live, others were looking for details such as the relic of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of communicators and writers. The confessionals were full during the penitential celebration. Cardinal Baldo Reina, the Pope’s vicar general for the diocese of Rome, approached the Jubilee as  time to revalue mercy, communication that collaborates with truth: “Jesus does not take the side of the woman to justify her, nor does he take the side of those who had set her before him to annul the law, but he enters into the heart of that woman, he tries to capture the beauty, the preciousness of that heart which is much greater than the mistakes she has made.

Pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St. Peter’s (25 January)

On Saturday morning we gathered in Via della Conciliazione, 4. We are often attentive to capture the moments and expressions of others, but this time it was important to fast from the use of cameras, to put ourselves in “mode” of contemplation, prayer, pilgrimage. We walked singing in different languages, thanking the Virgin Mary. I consider that we communication pilgrims were a testimony of fraternity as we crossed the Holy Door in the Basilica San Pietro, listened to the Eucharist and then attended the cultural event where the speakers were the Nobel Prize winner Ressa and the writer McCann.

Meeting with Pope Francis – “Telling the truth” (25 January)

Applause and expressions of joy resounded as Pope Francis arrived in the Paul VI Hall. “Thank you for what you do! In my hands I have a nine-page speech. At this hour, with my stomach starting to churn, reading nine pages would be torture,” he said, smiling. The Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, surprised, thought the Holy Father was asking him to read. The Pope continued amid applause: “To communicate is to go out of oneself a little in order to share what is mine with the other. And to communicate is not only to go out, but also to meet the other. Knowing how to communicate is a great wisdom, a great wisdom! I rejoice at this Jubilee of Communicators. Your work is a work that builds: it builds society, it builds the Church, it moves everyone forward, as long as it is true,” said the Pope, staging a dialogue with a believer, characteristic of his preaching: “Father, I always say true things…” “But you, are you true? – But you, are you true? Not only by the things you say, but you, inside you, in your life, are you true? This is a great test. Communicating is what God does with the Son, and God’s communication with the Son is the Holy Spirit,” he added, still improvising. The Pope’s entrance came before the scheduled time. His written speech was published. Of the 10,000 communicators present in the hall, 6,545 were journalists from different parts of the world. 

Audience with Pope Francis (27 January)

Very early on Monday, we went to the Vatican Apostolic Palace to participate in a meeting with Pope Francis. This audience was a good start for the Conference of Presidents of Episcopal Communication Commissions and Directors of Social Communication Offices (27-29 January).

The Pope showed his joy and said that it is beautiful to communicate the life of the Church with a Christian outlook, stressing that this is the way to overcome hopelessness. The Church should not close in on itself, but communicate with love, truth and openness, he said, urging us to go forward with courage and hope.

At the end, we went to greet him and I could only say to him: “Holy Father, thank you for encouraging us communicators”. He smiled and we said goodbye: “Don’t forget to pray for me. The Pope gave us a rosary as a souvenir. It was a solemn and joyful atmosphere.  

Conference of Presidents of Episcopal Communication Commissions and Directors of Social Communication Offices (27-29 January).

I can define this meeting as a testimony of hope. Most of the participants work in the field of institutional communication in their dioceses or religious congregations. Meeting each other meant discovering the potential for networking, for weaving strong relationships of communion.

Taking the image of the Samaritan Church, we are convinced not to be afraid, to dare to be “wounded and dirty” (going out) communicators and not “sick” (closed in). Wounded in the construction of a more human communication, in the recording of true stories, in casting the nets through different channels if they get stuck between the rocks, in building bridges of dialogue. Wounded by the algorithm that dominates, by looking for the brother in the new continent, by narratives, by Artificial Intelligence.

The pastures of communication. 28 January, memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas

We communicators are also tempted to set ourselves up as leaders, to expose ourselves in a narcissistic way and to consider ourselves as teachers as the Pharisees did.  Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, from the altar of the cathedra in St Peter’s Basilica, urged us to recognise the voice of the Shepherd in the pastures of communication. No one “has to assert himself as rabbi, as father and as guide: let the Holy Spirit guide the ministry and the responsibility you are called to live in the world of communication”.

Finally, I would just like to give thanks for the great signs of hope that have emerged from this Jubilee of the World of Communication. For a preacher, communication takes into account contemplation, silence, communion, the search for truth. I have only tried to tell the experience. Let us go forward with courage, sowing hope and building bridges of dialogue and love!

Among the materials provided by the Dicastery for Communication was a simple pencil, the basic tool for a communicator to take notes. What we do with a pencil is always a sketch, it needs to be improved. But it also has a seed, a sign of the fertile soil of communication.

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