WASHINGTON (CNS): Vatican communication leaders addressed the opening session of the Catholic Media Conference via a Zoom call on June 30. “We have something to bring” to the modern world “and a huge amount to learn” from it, said Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary general of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and a past secretary of the former Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
The bishop was joined in the virtual panel by Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, and Natasa Govekar, director of the dicastery’s theological-pastoral section, which coordinates Pope Francis’ Instagram feed.
The Vatican officials had a simple message for Catholic journalists and communication leaders, urging them above all to really engage with readers, viewers and social media followers, to think of new ways to have a broader reach and not get weighed down by society’s current polarisation.
Ruffini stressed that communication is about relationships, which the other panellists also echoed. Govekar emphasised that a key part of communication is not just getting the word out but listening.
The group of journalists and communication leaders asked some poignant questions in the chat section that were conveyed to the panellists such as: How would they advise diocesan leaders during a time of budget cuts related to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) not to do away with Catholic media, and what words of encouragement could they offer to this group during a time of increased polarisation?
In response to the question about keeping diocesan communications going, Bishop Tighe said: “No diocese should not be active in communication,” adding, “If we have faith, we will find the resources.” Addressing the polarisation question, panellists advised the group to pray, spread love, not hate and be sure to keep a sense of humour.
Ruffini said communicators need to learn how to dialogue and listen to those inside and outside the Church without looking at others as the enemy. He stressed that the job of communicators is to unify, saying: “That is what we have to do.”
Bishop Tighe warned that to do this well is not without risk. He urged the group not to be frightened by modern culture but to get out there and engage with it. “Listen and respond,” he said almost in pep-talk fashion.
And when it comes to the ever-pervasive social media, the bishop advised the communicators to participate, but not to let it become who they are, always keeping the priority of sharing the good news as a barometer in their role as Catholic communicators.
These same themes came across in a message to the group from Pope Francis, read by J.D. Long-Garcia, senior editor of America magazine and president of the Catholic Press Association, at the start of the conference’s opening session.
“Catholic media outlets in the United States are called to break down barriers that prevent dialogue and honest communication between people and communities,” the pope said. He also urged the group to serve as an inspiration of the ideal of unity amid diversity “in an age marked by conflicts and polarisation from which the Catholic community itself is not immune.”
The pope told them: “We cannot truly communicate unless we become personally involved, unless we can personally attest to the truth of the message we convey.”
The Zoom meeting replaced the session that would have kicked off the gathering this year in Portland, Oregon, which was cancelled due to Covid-19. Some workshops and other parts of the annual conference were available to participants in an online format.
