Communication at the Service of an Authentic Culture of Encounter
Reflection
Praising the communication as a human achievement, Pope Francis highlights an active role of ‘dialogue’ between human beings for an authentic culture of encounter. Recognizing the fact that the ‘speed’ of traveling has made the physical nearness of human much closer, Pope Francis brings our attention to make use the ‘speed’ of communication to create a sense of human family where listening in silence, receive in happiness and give in profound knowledge.
Since the speed with which information is communicated exceeds our capacity for reflection and judgement. It results a situation, where one does not make a balanced and proper forms of self-expression. It divides the human being. Therefore, the same ‘speed’ of receiving information has to utilize for a discussion through which an encounter of an authentic culture is happened. This encounter makes human beings to be live in “neighbourliness”. “Neighbourliness” is always an attempt to ‘give out a hand’ to the needy. The “neighbourliness” of the digital world prompts each one to have a network not of wires but of people. The human tendency of being with the other has to be accomplished to through the networks. Therefore it opens to a dialogue.
Each and every dialogue is an open invitation to ‘come and see’. The dialogue changes the situations and removes the misunderstandings. Therefore, the communication is to be a dialogue for the Catholic communicators. The invitation to the other is not only to listen, understand and accept us as we are but also to hear, understand and to accept the other too. So it has two ways of functions. Therefore each dialogue is like a two sided pierced sword, which enters into the heart of both sides. So, to reach message of Christ to the ends of the world, the Catholic communicator has to be broken oneself in giving fully to the other. At the end of the day, it has become an earnest call to the other to have a reasonable acceptance of the eternal truth.
Pope is invoking us to use the communication as a means of dialogue with cultures and lives. While in a multi religious context, like in India or in Asia and Africa, the dialogue is an encouragement to witness oneself: through the words and the deeds. The recent and best example would be the words of Pope Francis during his recent Holy Land trip: “In this place where the prince of Peace was born, I wish to direct an invitation to you, Mr. President Mahmound Abbas and Mr. President Shimon Peres to hold together with me an intense prayer to invoke from God the gift of Peace. I offer my house in the Vatican to host this meeting of prayer”. At the same time in the context of Europe and Latin American Nations, where the Catholic and Christian culture is dominating, dialogue is to be a request to the ‘baptized Catholics’ to be a better and real Catholic in life.
Practical suggestions to a Communicator
The message of Pope Francis to the 48th World communication day, brings me to some of the practical steps each Catholic / even non Catholic Communicator has to be kept in his/her mind.
1. Communication has to aim to create a sense of unity of the human family.
2. The digital connectivity has to promote Communal harmony. It is by breaking the dividing walls (religious, cast, etc.).
3. Create an atmosphere, where mutual giving and taking is happened.
4. Spread the truth. Help each one to have a capacity of reflection and judgment based on the truth that is being spread.
5. Communication has to be a medium that promotes “neighbourliness”.
6. Communication has to be an opportunity to grow into true encounters.
7. Communication has to become a network of people not of wires which shares the beauty of faith
8. Present the Gospel (the Good News), which can enter into every culture.
9. Communication is to be a window of dialogue with the other: to know-understand- encounter.
10. Communication has to be an external expression of an internal willingness to be with the other.
