“COME AND SEE is an invitation that must serve as an inspiration for all communication that strives to be clear and honest, in the press, on the Internet, in the Church’s daily preaching and in political or social communication,” Pope Francis wrote in his message for the 55th World Communications Day, which will be celebrated on May 16 this year. The message was released on the eve of the liturgical memorial of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists on January 23.
The pope has some serious instructions for journalists, reminding them of their sacred responsibility to the world at large which depends on truthful and impartial reporting to know the latest happenings around them. “Journalists must be willing to go where no one goes, must have a desire to see things for themselves—a “curiosity, an openness, a passion,” he wrote.
While acknowledging the risks involved in supporting and sharing the stories of those who are oppressed, of the sufferings of the poor and of creation, the pope heaped praises on the courage of journalists who have faced grave risks in telling the world of the plight of the poor, the trafficked, the abused and the exploited. If not for their courage “our entire human family would be impoverished and it would be a loss not only for news reporting, but for society and for democracy as a whole.”
The message is a real challenge not just for Catholic journalists, but for everyone involved in the profession of disseminating information. Truthfulness, integrity and impartiality seem increasingly unfeasible in a world where the powers-that-be silence unpleasant or critical voices. Therefore, the theme Come and see is an invitation for a Catholic journalist to return. A return to the ideals which initially inspired one to be a communicator. A journalist’s job is a creative job; creation is God’s job; thus a journalist participates in the creative work of God! That’s why the call of a Catholic journalist is a sacred vocation.
Pope Francis notes that many situations today call for someone to “come and see” things as they truly are. Too often, he says, we risk seeing things only through the eyes of the richer part of the world. This can lead to a divergence between the news we receive and what is really happening. The pope makes pointed reference to the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines as an example and raises concerns over the poor being neglected while priority sits with the rich and the powerful. He denounces this elitism of the rich and calls for concern for those in need.
Another concern of the pope is the good and bad of social media networks. He acknowledges the huge opportunities and information-at-the-fingertips offered by digital platforms; the huge potential to be life-saving agents or to be villains that destroy human lives He calls all of us to be responsible users and consumers of social media.
In his final prayer, the pope leads all of us in prayer: “Teach us to go out and see, teach us to listen, not to entertain prejudices or draw hasty conclusions.”
Jesus did not wait for people to come to him to begin his mission. Instead, he went out to meet the people wherever they were. “The challenge that awaits us, then, is to communicate by encountering people where they are and as they are.” jose, cmf
