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Keep on Blogging, Says Pope Francis

How nice! Pope Francis wrote a new Madville Times mission statement:

....[M]edia can help us to feel closer to one another, creating a sense of the unity of the human family which can in turn inspire solidarity and serious efforts to ensure a more dignified life for all. Good communication helps us to grow closer, to know one another better, and ultimately, to grow in unity. The walls which divide us can be broken down only if we are prepared to listen and learn from one another. We need to resolve our differences through forms of dialogue which help us grow in understanding and mutual respect. A culture of encounter demands that we be ready not only to give, but also to receive. Media can help us greatly in this, especially nowadays, when the networks of human communication have made unprecedented advances. The internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God [Pope Francis, "Communication at the Service of an Authentic Culture of Encounter," Pope's Message for the 48th World Communications Day, 2014.01.24].

So if my blog is part of a gift from God, I can declare 501(c)3 status, right?

The Pope says some more useful words about communication (translate: the act of building common understanding), neighbors, and networks:

Whenever communication is primarily aimed at promoting consumption or manipulating others, we are dealing with a form of violent aggression like that suffered by the man in the parable, who was beaten by robbers and left abandoned on the road. The Levite and the priest do not regard him as a neighbour, but as a stranger to be kept at a distance. In those days, it was rules of ritual purity which conditioned their response. Nowadays there is a danger that certain media so condition our responses that we fail to see our real neighbour.

It is not enough to be passersby on the digital highways, simply “connected”; connections need to grow into true encounters. We cannot live apart, closed in on ourselves. We need to love and to be loved. We need tenderness. Media strategies do not ensure beauty, goodness and truth in communication. The world of media also has to be concerned with humanity, it too is called to show tenderness. The digital world can be an environment rich in humanity; a network not of wires but of people. The impartiality of media is merely an appearance; only those who go out of themselves in their communication can become a true point of reference for others. Personal engagement is the basis of the trustworthiness of a communicator. Christian witness, thanks to the internet, can thereby reach the peripheries of human existence [Pope Francis, 2014.01.24].

Pope Francis is speaking to Catholics and Christians, but I've got to think he's got something to say to the rest of us, too:

We are challenged to be people of depth, attentive to what is happening around us and spiritually alert. To dialogue means to believe that the “other” has something worthwhile to say, and to entertain his or her point of view and perspective. Engaging in dialogue does not mean renouncing our own ideas and traditions, but the claim that they alone are valid or absolute [Pope Francis, 2014.01.24].

Attentive, alert, neighborly dialogue. Keep your comments coming—Pope Francis says so!

2 Comments

  1. Stan Gibilisco 2014.01.26

    So if my blog is part of a gift from God, I can declare 501(c)3 status, right?

    If you mix church and state, yes.

    From a contradiction, anything follows.

  2. Deb Geelsdottir/ 2014.01.26

    I have never admired a pope before. In fact, I haven't even liked them. Perhaps if I was old enough to have more recall of John 23?

    It is wonderful to have a religious leader known throughout the globe, who is not focused on dogma, doctrine, creeds, wealth, political power, etc. Francisco's attention, energy and time is devoted to the people Jesus highlighted throughout his ministry on earth. Thank God!

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