‘Media professionals must engage with audience’ – Pope Francis
By Devin Watkins
As the Dicastery for Communication held its plenary assembly, Pope Francis met with Members and employees of Dicastery’s various branches, which includes Vatican News.
The Pope gave his prepared remarks to Dr. Paolo Ruffini, the Dicastery’s Prefect, and then spoke off-the-cuff, so that he could offer something “more spontaneous and uncensored, which is more fun!”
He offered his reflections on the importance of communication, calling it a “round trip”.
Creating connections
Pope Francis said that only parrots communicate without listening to the response of their interlocutors.
Communication, he added, is “a human connection” which should resemble a telephone conversation in which a person speaks but also listens.
The Pope noted that this dialogue “always brings risks” because it means overcoming the temptation toward inertia where nothing changes even if it is poorly received.
He summed up his meaning with the idea of “communicative restlessness”, which drives journalists and media professionals to “go towards” their audience.