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by Roberto Montoya 03 June 2020"We are members of each other". It takes inspiration from the Gospel of Pope Francis to address journalists. He calls them the bearers of the "good news". In his relationship with the reporters, on the occasion of the meetings that took place on the papal plane, Francis recalls that "... the reporter of history is called to reconstruct the memory of the facts, to work for social cohesion. And to tell the truth at all costs, respectful, but never arrogant ". To aim for the good, and build bridges of humanity that lead to truth, beauty and fairness, communication must make use of the authentic reciprocity between people, placing the weapon of lies.
While bad journalism is based on the pretense of being able to separate from the profound facts that lie within reality, good journalism feeds on the ability to go deep. It is a continuous approach to the other avoiding the overflow syndrome. "Chia loves truth and research - advises Pope Francis - does not allow them to be transformed into a misrepresented or hidden commodity".
Children of haste and inability to listen, we are often enraptured by impatience and disinterest that lead the listener to believe that he has understood, only for the pretense of having crossed the threshold of his inner world, the mood of those who have front.
The Bishop of Rome warns the media against the temptation of the snake that “Whispers still today to those who use the so-called storytelling for instrumental purposes, because in order not to get lost - he adds - we need to breathe the truth of the good stories: stories that build, not that they destroy; stories that help to find the roots and strength to go forward together ".
How many stories make our soul insensitive, convincing us that to be happy we continually need to have, possess and consume, almost unaware of how we become greedy for chatter and gossip, how much violence and falsehood we consume.
To be authentic, communication requires daily gestures, a continuum of unity of life between sociality and inner needs. The mystery of inclusive communication, full of values, open to diversity thus becomes, for our time, a transcendental moment, a powerful beacon to direct navigation in a sea of disinformation.
The message of the pontificate of Francis urges us to understand and dialogue also with our detractors and opponents, even with those who hate us. A virtue, which not everyone possesses, but which can be learned, a non-violent virtue, which differs from that of the masters of persuasion and propaganda. Communication is not "business" but it is to mediate the requests of the other.
We met the Vatican journalist Ary Waldir Ramos Diaz , Colombian, author of the book "Be authentic!" That offers a key to the Pope's communication: innovative and courageous.
How did Pope Francis communicate during the pandemic? What were the keywords?
The word "key" is hope. I would like to focus on an image: a deserted St. Peter's square for the first time and the Pope who, at 83 years old, with a decisive but fatigued step, reaches the churchyard of the Basilica to preside over an extraordinary moment of prayer in pandemic times. He walks almost as if he were carrying the weight of all humanity. March 27 is a dark day, dense with clouds covering the sky of Rome, there is a deafening silence and a desolating void, which paralyzes. Francesco describes it and uses the "we" to communicate. "We found ourselves afraid and lost," he says. Near the central gate he placed two archetypes of overcoming death and the plague: the image of the Salus Populi Romani and the Crucifix of San Marcello . The Pope communicates with Christian symbols that evoke a faith that always wins, not because it imposes itself, but because it persists in the common good despite the storm. It involves humanity. Francesco insists on showing how our lives are woven and supported by ordinary people: from the doctor to the worker. It reminds us that we are not self-sufficient; he does not deny the difficulties, but embraces them. The crisis of the moment is a communicative opportunity to open the heart and mind and make the interlocutor's hands move. It is a communication without artifices with the aim of building communities.
Pope Francis asks to make the talent of communication bear fruit as a tool to build bridges, to unite, in a time marked by suffering and contrasts. What do you think?
Authentic communication is one that is not afraid of its own weaknesses and imperfections. Social masks fail to find that there is a brother in front of us, and not an opponent to destroy. He believes that true communication takes place with people who are out of our comfort zone and those most dear to us; and create a bridge to get beyond our courtyard. Racism, xenophobia, ideologies and cultural homologation prevent the construction of these bridges and feed polarization. Francis warns against reductionist simplism in communication, which sees only good and evil, separating righteous and sinners. In his speech to the US Congress he says: “In an attempt to be rid of the external enemy, we may be tempted to feed the internal enemy. Imitating the hatred and violence of tyrants and assassins is the best way to take their place. "
In your book, you talk about listening. What are the tools that Pope Francis suggests to learn to listen?
Listening is a "sine qua non" condition of authentic communication, otherwise it is better to speak of one-way information or persuasion and manipulation of the other. Dialogue needs a strong awareness of our dignity and identity. We do not go to dialogue to lose ourselves, but to find ourselves and to see our own reflection of humanity in the other. We do it to approach together a superior good (peace, dialogue, reconciliation, etc.), welcoming the other, in the silence of listening. Francis taught us that sometimes it is enough to walk together, without pretensions, without asking for the impossible, rather, doing works of charity and showing respect and affection, when possible. Listening is already action. In the book we have dedicated an entire part to active listening, precisely because authentic communication requires acceptance, participation, which in turn implies movement, encounter and recognition.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: "If you judge people, you won't have time to love them". What does this expression have to do with communication?
Thank you for this question that introduces us to non-violent communication. The force of forgiveness is the true antidote to sadness caused by resentment and revenge, Francis teaches us. Non-violent communication is to walk a road together looking for truth, goodness and beauty. In the book we insist on the idea of breaking the dehumanizing paradigms in communication: first of all we need to put ourselves at the service of others before personal interests, work on building authentic interpersonal relationships, pursue community objectives and build bridges towards those who hurt us, fight us or hampers. The words we use make the difference, shape our reality. Sooner or later we realize that we waste too much time judging people, rather than looking for their own good and finding a solution to our common problems. To the bishops of Chile overwhelmed by abuse, the Pope writes: “Brothers, ideas are discussed, situations are discerned. We are gathered to discern, not to discuss. " So authentic communication is an act of self-denial, to go out to meet the other. This means avoiding the minefield of polarization and accusations, in order not to fall into the trap of judgment.
How does Pope Francis encourage us to be more authentic?
Here we get on the shoulders of a communication giant, and there is a great goal at stake. If we first do not change ourselves, our inner world, we do not put aside the impetuousness, in reality we are not doing a service. The change starts from the courage to break the old patterns to which we are anchored. Pope Francis indicates a key word: testimony. We are called to relate to others with charity and brotherhood; to accept what you cannot change; offers you to walk together to build bridges. The problems are tackled collectively, with creativity. Pope Francis wants to communicate and walk with people who think differently from him. His strength is precisely this, the conviction of discovering himself in others.
After the pandemic, are we ready to drop the walls that divide us and put ourselves in the shoes of the other?
We live in a very individualistic society to the point of living like islands, surrounded by a lot of technology that shortens distances, immersing ourselves in a sort of technological autism. The pandemic made fear prevail, and created distant human relationships, diluting relationships. Friendships that are not 'functional' to our interests are discarded. Francesco invites us to put ourselves in the other person's shoes, to take charge of the problem of those around us. He asks us to have a greater opening to life, to discard prejudice, which makes us see the other as an enemy. He wants a Church with open arms, inclusive, that rebuilds in others an authentic idea of community, which we now need so much.