Vatican City, 22 January 2016 (VIS) –
"Communication and mercy" is the title of Pope Francis'
Message for the fiftieth World Day of Social Communications, to be
held on 8 May. The Message is symbolically signed by the Holy Father
on Sunday 24 January 2016, feast of St. Francis of Sales, patron of
journalists. The following is the full text of the Message:
"Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Holy Year of Mercy invites all of
us to reflect on the relationship between communication and mercy.
The Church, in union with Christ, the living incarnation of the
Father of Mercies, is called to practise mercy as the distinctive
trait of all that she is and does. What we say and how we say it, our
every word and gesture, ought to express God’s compassion,
tenderness and forgiveness for all. Love, by its nature, is
communication; it leads to openness and sharing. If our hearts and
actions are inspired by charity, by divine love, then our
communication will be touched by God’s own power.
As sons and daughters of God, we are
called to communicate with everyone, without exception. In a
particular way, the Church’s words and actions are all meant to
convey mercy, to touch people’s hearts and to sustain them on their
journey to that fullness of life which Jesus Christ was sent by the
Father to bring to all. This means that we ourselves must be willing
to accept the warmth of Mother Church and to share that warmth with
others, so that Jesus may be known and loved. That warmth is what
gives substance to the word of faith; by our preaching and witness,
it ignites the 'spark' which gives them life.
Communication has the power to build
bridges, to enable encounter and inclusion, and thus to enrich
society. How beautiful it is when people select their words and
actions with care, in the effort to avoid misunderstandings, to heal
wounded memories and to build peace and harmony. Words can build
bridges between individuals and within families, social groups and
peoples. This is possible both in the material world and the digital
world. Our words and actions should be such as to help us all escape
the vicious circles of condemnation and vengeance which continue to
ensnare individuals and nations, encouraging expressions of hatred.
The words of Christians ought to be a constant encouragement to
communion and, even in those cases where they must firmly condemn
evil, they should never try to rupture relationships and
communication.
For this reason, I would like to invite
all people of good will to rediscover the power of mercy to heal
wounded relationships and to restore peace and harmony to families
and communities. All of us know how many ways ancient wounds and
lingering resentments can entrap individuals and stand in the way of
communication and reconciliation. The same holds true for
relationships between peoples. In every case, mercy is able to
create a new kind of speech and dialogue. Shakespeare put it
eloquently when he said: 'The quality of mercy is not strained. It
droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It
is twice blessed: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes' (The
Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I).
Our political and diplomatic language
would do well to be inspired by mercy, which never loses hope. I ask
those with institutional and political responsibility, and those
charged with forming public opinion, to remain especially attentive
to the way they speak of those who think or act differently or those
who may have made mistakes. It is easy to yield to the temptation to
exploit such situations to stoke the flames of mistrust, fear and
hatred. Instead, courage is needed to guide people towards processes
of reconciliation. It is precisely such positive and creative
boldness which offers real solutions to ancient conflicts and the
opportunity to build lasting peace. 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they will be called children of God'.
How I wish that our own way of
communicating, as well as our service as pastors of the Church, may
never suggest a prideful and triumphant superiority over an enemy, or
demean those whom the world considers lost and easily discarded.
Mercy can help mitigate life’s troubles and offer warmth to those
who have known only the coldness of judgement. May our way of
communicating help to overcome the mindset that neatly separates
sinners from the righteous. We can and we must judge situations of
sin – such as violence, corruption and exploitation – but we may
not judge individuals, since only God can see into the depths of
their hearts. It is our task to admonish those who err and to
denounce the evil and injustice of certain ways of acting, for the
sake of setting victims free and raising up those who have fallen.
The Gospel of John tells us that 'the truth will make you free'. The
truth is ultimately Christ himself, whose gentle mercy is the
yardstick for measuring the way we proclaim the truth and condemn
injustice. Our primary task is to uphold the truth with love. Only
words spoken with love and accompanied by meekness and mercy can
touch our sinful hearts. Harsh and moralistic words and actions risk
further alienating those whom we wish to lead to conversion and
freedom, reinforcing their sense of rejection and defensiveness.
Some feel that a vision of society
rooted in mercy is hopelessly idealistic or excessively indulgent.
But let us try and recall our first experience of relationships,
within our families. Our parents loved us and valued us for who we
are more than for our abilities and achievements. Parents naturally
want the best for their children, but that love is never dependent on
their meeting certain conditions. The family home is one place where
we are always welcome. I would like to encourage everyone to see
society not as a forum where strangers compete and try to come out on
top, but above all as a home or a family, where the door is always
open and where everyone feels welcome.
For this to happen, we must first
listen. Communicating means sharing, and sharing demands listening
and acceptance. Listening is much more than simply hearing. Hearing
is about receiving information, while listening is about
communication, and calls for closeness. Listening allows us to get
things right, and not simply to be passive onlookers, users or
consumers. Listening also means being able to share questions and
doubts, to journey side by side, to banish all claims to absolute
power and to put our abilities and gifts at the service of the common
good.
Listening is never easy. Many times it
is easier to play deaf. Listening means paying attention, wanting to
understand, to value, to respect and to ponder what the other person
says. It involves a sort of martyrdom or self-sacrifice, as we try to
imitate Moses before the burning bush: we have to remove our sandals
when standing on the 'holy ground' of our encounter with the one who
speaks to me. Knowing how to listen is an immense grace, it is a gift
which we need to ask for and then make every effort to practice.
Emails, text messages, social networks
and chats can also be fully human forms of communication. It is not
technology which determines whether or not communication is
authentic, but rather the human heart and our capacity to use wisely
the means at our disposal. Social networks can facilitate
relationships and promote the good of society, but they can also lead
to further polarisation and division between individuals and groups.
The digital world is a public square, a meeting-place where we can
either encourage or demean one another, engage in a meaningful
discussion or unfair attacks. I pray that this Jubilee Year, lived in
mercy, 'may open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might
know and understand one another better; and that it may eliminate
every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every
form of violence and discrimination'. The internet can help us to be
better citizens. Access to digital networks entails a responsibility
for our neighbour whom we do not see but who is nonetheless real and
has a dignity which must be respected. The internet can be used
wisely to build a society which is healthy and open to sharing.
Communication, wherever and however it
takes place, has opened up broader horizons for many people. This is
a gift of God which involves a great responsibility. I like to refer
to this power of communication as 'closeness. The encounter between
communication and mercy will be fruitful to the degree that it
generates a closeness which cares, comforts, heals, accompanies and
celebrates. In a broken, fragmented and polarised world, to
communicate with mercy means to help create a healthy, free and
fraternal closeness between the children of God and all our brothers
and sisters in the one human family".
