Use the power of communication to build bridges and heal wounds, not generate hatred or misunderstanding, Pope Francis said in his message for World Communications Day on Jan. 22. The Catholic Church must proclaim the truth and denounce injustice without alienating everyone in need of God’s help, he said. “We can and we must judge situations of sin—such as violence, corruption and exploitation—but we may not judge individuals, since only God can see into the depths of their hearts.” What people say, how they say it and what actions they take must all “express God’s compassion, tenderness and forgiveness for all.” Only by giving witness to and preaching with Jesus’ warmth and mercy can the words of faith come alive to touch people’s hearts and sustain them on the journey toward fullness of life, he said. The church and her ministers need to communicate in a way that never implies “a prideful and triumphant superiority over an enemy, or demean those whom the world considers lost and easily discarded.”
Speaking With Mercy
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
Athletes who never make mistakes, who never lose, do not exist. Champions are not perfectly functioning machines, but real men and women, who, when they fall, find the courage to get back on their feet.
In his video message at White Sox stadium, Pope Leo encouraged young people to look inside themselves, recognize God’s presence in their own hearts and “recognize that God is present and that, perhaps in many different ways, God is reaching out to you,
The June 14 celebration featured the first-ever airing of Pope Leo XIV’s video message to the world’s youth at the White Sox stadium in Chicago’s Southside.
Pope Leo called for a “commitment to build a world that is safer and free from the nuclear threat.”