Do not glamorise evil, but communicate hope, Pope says in message

VATICAN CITY –  On January 24—the memorial of St Francis de Sales, the patron of journalists—the Holy See Press Office released the Pope’s message for the 51st World Communications Day, which takes place on the Sunday before Pentecost.

In the message—entitled “Fear not, for I am with you (Is. 43:5): Communicating Hope and Trust in our Time”—Pope Francis wrote that “we have to break the vicious circle of anxiety and stem the spiral of fear resulting from a constant focus on ‘bad news.’”

The Pope instead called for “an open and creative style of communication that never seeks to glamorise evil but instead to concentrate on solutions and to inspire a positive and responsible approach on the part of its recipients.”

The message has three sections:

Good news
Confidence in the seed of the Kingdom
The horizons of the Spirit.

The Pope concluded:

Those who, in faith, entrust themselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit come to realise how God is present and at work in every moment of our lives and history, patiently bringing to pass a history of salvation … Today too, 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. – CWN