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communication and growth

April 1, 2014

"GOOD COMMUNICATION"

Good communication helps us to grow closer, to know one another better, and ultimately, to grow in unity.

RESOLVE DIFFERENCES

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.

"IMMENSE POSSIBILITIES"

The Internet ... offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.

"CHILDREN OF GOD"

Communication is really about realizing that we are all human beings, children of God. I like seeing this power of communication as "neighborliness".

"PASSERSBY ON THE DIGITAL HIGHWAY"

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 be loved. We need tenderness.

A NETWORK OF PEOPLE

The digital world can be an environment rich in humanity; a network not of wires but of people.

"OUT TO THE STREETS"

... If a choice has to be made between a bruised Church which goes out to the streets and a Church suffering from self-absorption, I certainly prefer the first. Those "streets" are the world where people live and where they can be reached... The digital highway is one of them, a street teeming with people who are are often hurting, men and women looking for salvation and hope.

ABLE TO DIALOGUE

We have to be able to dialogue with the men and women of today, to understand their expectations, doubts and hopes, and to bring them the Gospel, Jesus Christ Himself...

"CITIZENS OF THE DIGITAL WORLD"

Let us boldly become citizens of the digital world. The Church needs to be concerned for, and present in the world of communication, in order to dialogue with people today and to help them encounter Christ. She needs to be a Church at the side of others, capable of accompanying everyone along the way.

(Source: Message for World Communications Day, January 24, 2014)