In his message for the 59th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Francis urged media practitioners to counter fear, despair, and polarization with messages of hope and solidarity.
According to the Holy Father, communication has the power to either build or destroy, and it is up to media practitioners to ensure that their work promotes hope, understanding, and peaceful coexistence.
“Too often today, communication generates not hope, but fear and despair, prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred,” Pope Francis said. “We must not surrender to this mindset.”
The Argentine-born Pontiff emphasized the need for media practitioners to be “communicators of hope,” using their platforms to promote stories of goodness, solidarity, and compassion.
“Hope is not something easy,” he said. “But it is a risk that must be taken. It is the risk of risks.”
Pope Francis also stressed the importance of gentle and respectful communication, citing the example of Jesus Christ, who walked alongside his disciples and spoke to their hearts. “A good communicator ensures that those who listen, read or watch can be involved, can draw close, can get in touch with the best part of themselves and enter with these attitudes into the stories told,” he said.
With the theme “Share with gentleness the hope that is in your hearts” chosen for the 2025 World Communication Day, the Holy Father emphasized the need to “disarm” communication by cleansing it of aggression and promoting a more hopeful and gentle approach to communication, particularly in the face of prevalent online hostility and polarization.
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