The Italian “It’s Journalism” award committee decided to award this year’s award to Pope Francis, who spoke during receiving it today about the importance of communication and stopped at the synodal march of the Church.
Pope Francis received this morning, Saturday, August 26, the delegation of the “It’s Journalism” award, on the occasion of handing over the award to His Holiness. After welcoming everyone, His Holiness stated that even before he became Bishop of Rome, he did not like receiving awards, but he accepted this award out of the need for constructive contacts that support a culture of encounter rather than exclusion, peace rather than war, and openness to others rather than prejudices. He went on to tell his guests that they are among the important names in the Italian press, adding that he wanted to introduce them to his hope and also to ask them for help.
Speaking of his hope, the Holy Father said that it is the hope that the principle of reality will be rediscovered and that the principle of reality will be developed at a time when everyone seems to comment on everything, often even before obtaining information. Consequently, His Holiness spoke about the reality and dynamics of matters, which are constantly evolving towards good or evil, and thus stressed that this hope stems from his concern to avoid the media community turning into a misleading media community. His Holiness referred here to what he described as four sins in the world of journalism, namely misleading media, slander, defamation of people, and search for scandals. The Pope went on to talk about the need to spread the culture of encounter, dialogue and mutual listening, then he stopped in his speech on the digital culture that brought us many possibilities of exchange, but on the other hand, it threatens to turn communications into slogans. His Holiness stressed here that contacts are not slogans, but rather they always go in two directions. I speak, listen and answer, and that is always in dialogue. The Holy Father continued, expressing his concern in front of, for example, false news that seeks to direct public opinion, and stressed here the need not to be influenced by the language of hate. Pope Francis spoke about the tragic stage that Europe is currently experiencing and the ongoing war in Ukraine, stressing that we are called to responsibility, and he expressed the hope that the voices of peace and those who strive to end this conflict and many other conflicts, and not give in to the logic of war, but rather believe in spite of all Something with the logic of peace, dialogue and diplomacy.
Then Pope Francis proceeded to talk about what he described at the beginning of his speech as the request for help addressed to his guests. He spoke of this moment, which witnesses a lot of talking and little listening, and where there is a danger of weakening the sense of the common good, and he said that the Church and at this moment has begun a journey to rediscover the word ” Together, walking together, wondering together, and taking upon ourselves together, in collective discernment, is for us prayer, as the early apostles did. His Holiness spoke therefore about synods, which we want to be a daily habit, the Pope said, referring to the general assembly of the Synod on synods, which will be held next October. His Holiness stopped at the importance of the word “together”, especially in the era of exclusion in which we live.
The Holy Father continued that he realizes that talking about a synod about synods may seem insignificant to public opinion, but what happened during the last year and which will continue in the next General Assembly and then in a second stage in 2024 is really important for the Church. His Holiness wanted to recall in this context that this process was initiated by Pope Paul VI at the end of the Second Vatican Council, when he established the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, because he noticed the lack of implementation of synodism in the Western Church, in contrast to the Eastern Church, which is characterized by this dimension. The Holy Father continued, speaking of the importance of this journey, through which the Church presents something important to the world, which is sometimes incapable of making decisions, even if our very survival is at stake. The Holy Father continued that we are trying to learn a new way of living relationships and listening to one another in order to listen to and follow the voice of the Holy Spirit. A church where everyone feels at home and where no one is left out. The request for help that the Pope is talking about, therefore, is what he expressed, asking his guests, who are teachers of journalism, to help him tell this journey in its truth and to break out of the language of slogans and prefabricated narratives.
Then Pope Francis concluded his speech to the “It’s Journalism” award delegation on the occasion of handing over the award, thanking his guests for this meeting and what it means for our common commitment to truth and peace, His Holiness said. Then the Pope entrusted everyone to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, asking them not to forget to pray for him.
It is worth noting what was stated in a statement by the organizers of the initiative to grant the award to His Holiness Pope Francis, where the justifications for this decision were introduced. The statement stated at the outset that choosing to award the award to Pope Francis is fully in line with the objectives of the journalists who established this award in 1995, who are four senior Italian journalists: Andrew Montanelli, Enzo Biagi, Giorgio Bucca and Giancarlo Aneri. The statement referred to these goals, which are to help the press to be more aware of its role as free expression and its contribution to building justice by serving the truth. The statement added that Pope Francis expresses through his message, as a single voice, the courage to use dialogue to say words of peace. The choice of awarding the Pontiff the Prize is an important sign for the world of media, and especially for the younger generations of journalists.
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2023-08-26 10:23:06
