Catholic communicators must help people overcome divisions, pope says January 29, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Journalism, News, Vatican, World News VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A television or radio network that calls itself Catholic must help people overcome their prejudices, seek the truth with charity and build bridges between people, Pope Francis said. Meeting Jan. 29 with employees of TV2000 and InBlu2000, the television and radio networks owned by the Italian bishops’ conference, the pope asked them to be worthy guests in the homes of the thousands of people who tune in each day for news, entertainment or information. “Continue to create networks, to weave bonds, to recount the beautiful and the good about our communities,” he said, asking them to make special efforts to involve people who often are ignored, “making protagonists of those who usually end up as extras or are not even taken into consideration.” Mastering certain technologies may be part of a communicator’s job, the pope said, but drawing close to people is what communication is really about. To communicate involves making space for the other person, the pope said, and listening with the goal of “freeing ourselves from the chains of prejudice (and) speaking the truth without separating it from charity.” Pope Francis noted that the word “courage” comes from the Latin “cor,” which means “heart.” “Those who have heart also have the courage to be alternative, but without becoming argumentative or aggressive; to be credible, without having the pretension of imposing their point of view; and to be bridge builders,” the pope said. As professional communicators and as Catholics, he said, each employee “must do his or her part to ensure that every form of communication is objective, respectful of human dignity and attentive to the common good. In this way, we can mend fractures and transform indifference into acceptance and relationship.” The “vocation” of Catholic communicators, he said, is to be “messengers who inform with respect and with competence, countering divisions and discord, and always remembering that at the center of every service, every article, every program is the person.” Read More Vatican News ‘Be open to what the Lord has in store for you,’ Pope Leo tells SEEK 2026 attendees New year marks time to usher in era of peace, friendship among all people, pope says God’s plan of salvation is greater than ‘weaponized’ plots underway, pope says Vatican says close to 3 million people saw Pope Leo at the Vatican in 2025 Take time to review the past year with God, pope suggests Vatican agency says 17 church workers murdered in 2025 Copyright © 2024 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Print
