Pope urges journalists to remember the faces of others, nurture gentleness and closeness
The pope’s message for the 59th World Day of Social Communications, observed on 1 June, is released on the feast day of Saint Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers and journalists. In it, Francis calls for a form of “communication that can heal the wounds of our humanity”, which is even more important in this Holy Year in order to “spread hope, even when it is difficult”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis today released his message for 59th World Day of Social Communications, which will be celebrated on Sunday, 1 June 2025.
In his address, which comes on the feast day of Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), the patron saint of writers and journalists, the pontiff urges them “to promote a communication that can heal the wounds of our humanity,” and tell “the many stories of goodness hidden in the folds of the news,” like “gold prospectors who tirelessly sift the sand in search of a tiny nugget.”
In his message to communication professionals, he also refers to the Holy Year, urging them to “be communicators of hope, beginning with a renewal of your work and your mission according to the spirit of the Gospel".
The Second Vatican Council established World Day of Social Communications to strengthen “the varied apostolates of the Church with respect to the media of social communication” (decree Inter Mirifica, 1964), but this year it comes at a time “characterized by disinformation and polarization”, as well as by the “diseases of self-promotion and self-absorption”, and by the influence of the “logic of the market”.
For the pope, quoting the French writer Georges Bernanos (1888-1948), hope is "the risk of risks” more than ever, not an "option”, but a “necessary condition" for Christians.
Like every year, the pontiff's message was announced on 29 September, the feast day of the Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. This year’s theme is: “Share with gentleness the hope that is in your hearts” (cf. 1 Pet 3:15-16).
Indeed, the heart is once again central in today's communication practices, characterised by “astonishing achievements of technology". For this reason, “I encourage you to care for your heart, your interior life,” reads the message.
Stressing this need, the pontiff offers guidelines to information workers. First of all, they must never forget the "face of other people”, and always try to nurture gentleness.
It is also necessary to move away from "instinctive reactions”; instead, “Always spread hope, even when it is difficult, even when it costs, even when it seems not to bear fruit,” Francis writes.
In short, room must be made for the “heartfelt trust" that can flourish in the most unexpected places, the hope of “those fathers who emigrate at great risk,” and that “of children who somehow manage to play, laugh and believe in life even amid the debris of war”.
“Be witnesses and promoters of a non-aggressive communication; help to spread a culture of care, build bridges and break down the visible and invisible barriers of the present time.”
These words outline the bases of good communication for the 59th World Communications Day.
This is the same practice that Saint Francis de Sales followed. Ordained a priest in 1593, he engaged in dialogue with Calvinists in Chablais, south of Lake Geneva (today on the border between France and Switzerland).
He stands above others for his respect for opinions different from his own, and for direct and frank communication. He also used the means of communication available at the time, like posters and letters. He became the patron saint of Catholic journalists and writers in 1923 with Pope Pius XI's encyclical Rerum omnium.
In the First Epistle of Peter (3:15-16), we find "an admirable synthesis in which hope is linked to Christian witness and communication," the pontiff writes.
This passage carries three messages. The first is that hope for Christians has "the face of the Risen Lord". The second concerns the readiness "to explain the hope that is in us". The last is the invitation to "gentleness" and "reverence".
“Christian communication,” but also communication in general, “should be steeped in gentleness and closeness,” reads the papal message.
Thus, Francis goes on to say: “I dream of a communication capable of making us fellow travelers, walking alongside our brothers and sisters,” a closeness that is needed to invigorate hope, which "is always a community project”.
Citing Fr Tonino Bello, the pope laments that conflicts, wars and misunderstandings “start when individual faces melt away and disappear.”
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