Build bridges where others build walls

Communication, says Pope Francis, should aim “to build bridges where many build walls; to foster community where many deepen divisions; to engage with the tragedies of our time, where so many prefer indifference”. The Pope made these remarks in a meeting with participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, on Thursday, 31 October, which brings together all the Holy See’s communications bodies. He added a request: Vatican communications should, “in a context of war, socio-economic inequality, consumerism, and dehumanising technology”, help individuals to “rediscover what is most important and essential: the heart”. In their role as ambassadors of truth, justice, and peace, the Pope said, Church communicators should not forget their ecclesial identity: “If we think and act by political or business ...