communicating good news
May 1, 2017
INSTANT NEWS
Access to the media ... makes it possible for countless people to share news instantly and spread it widely. That news may be good or bad, true or false.
POSITIVE COMMUNICATION
I would like to encourage everyone to engage in constructive forms of communication that reject prejudice towards others and foster a culture of encounter, helping all of us to view the world around us with realism and trust.
"VICIOUS CIRCLE"
I am convinced that we have to break the vicious circle of anxiety and stem the spiral of fear resulting from a constant focus on "bad news" (wars, terrorism, scandals and all sorts of human failure).
"POSITIVE AND RESPONSIBLE"
I would like ... to contribute to the search for an open and creative style of communication that never seeks to glamorize evil but instead to concentrate on solutions and to inspire a positive and responsible approach on the part of its recipients. I ask everyone to offer the people of our time storylines that are at heart "good news".
BY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT
By "the power of the Holy Spirit" we can be witnesses and "communicators" of a new and redeemed humanity "even to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1: 7-8)
CONFIDENCE IN GOD
Confidence in the seed of God's Kingdom and in the mystery of Easter should also shape the way we communicate. This confidence enables us to carry out our work ... with the conviction that it is possible to recognize and highlight the good news present in every story and in the face of each person.
GOD IS AT WORK
Those who, in faith, entrust themselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit come to realize how God is present and at work in every moment of our lives and history, patiently bringing to pass a history of salvation. Hope is the thread with which this sacred history is woven, and its weaver is none other than the Holy Spirit.
NURTURE HOPE
Hope is the humblest of virtues, for it remains hidden in the recesses of life, yet it is like the yeast that leavens all the dough. We nurture it by reading ever anew the Gospel, "reprinted" in so many editions in the lives of the saints who became icons of God's love in this world.
BEACONS IN THE DARKNESS
... The Spirit continues to sow in us a desire for the Kingdom, thanks to all those who, drawing inspiration from the Good News amid the dramatic events of our time, shine like beacons in the darkness of this world , shedding light along the way and opening ever new paths of confidence and hope.
(Source: Message for 51st World Communications Day, issued 1/24/2017)