The Supreme Pontiff issued a statement on the occasion of the 56th World Day of Social Communications, pointing out that “what makes communication good and fully human is precisely listening to who we have in front of us”, whom “we approach with loyal, trusting and honest openness”.

“Listen up!” was the theme chosen by Francis to celebrate this year the initiative promoted by the Catholic Church since 1967 to draw attention to “the vast and complex phenomenon of modern social communication tools.”

Unfortunately, as the Pope pointed out, the lack of listening that we often experience in everyday life is also evident in public life, in which, often, instead of listening to the other, what we like is to listen to ourselves.

After referring to the impossibility of doing good journalism without the ability to listen, Francisco stressed that “in order to provide solid, balanced and complete information, it is necessary to have listened for a long time.”

In the pontiff’s opinion, in order to recount an event or describe a reality in a report, it is essential to have known how to listen, with a willingness to change one’s mind and modify one’s starting hypotheses.

Listening to different sources “ensures the reliability and seriousness of the information we transmit,” said the Pope, and stated that “the ability to listen to society is extremely valuable in this time wounded by the long pandemic.”

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