How can communication serve an authentic culture of encounter?

• A reflection on how to put communication, and the internet in particular, at the service of encounter and solidarity between people.

“…The internet can offer greater possibilities for encounter and solidarity among all; and this is a good thing, it is a gift from God”

Pope Francis.

My passion is communication, because it allows us to share our feelings, opinions and knowledge. It is extremely powerful, yet it can have two sides. Just as a knife can be used to cut food, it can also be used to kill a person. The intention of the heart and the purpose of what we do with our resources make the difference.

The internet is an unstoppable wave that there is no point resisting; it marked a before and after in communication. The speed of digital communication allows us to be well informed or misinformed almost instantly. We can use it to build and bring together, or to destroy and divide through lies and defamation. We cannot let ourselves be drowned by this great wave; we must ride it and make the most of its great benefits.

When I read Pope Francis’s wise message for the 48th World Communications Day, I wanted to share it with you. Here are a few lines from that message:

“In this world, the media can help us to feel closer to one another, creating a sense of the unity of the human family which can in turn inspire solidarity and serious efforts to ensure a more dignified life for all. Good communication helps us to grow closer, to know one another better, and ultimately, to grow in unity. … We need to resolve our differences through forms of dialogue which help us grow in understanding and mutual respect.

…The media can help us in this, especially nowadays, when the networks of human communication have made unprecedented advances.

How, then, can communication be at the service of an authentic culture of encounter? … These questions are summed up in what a scribe – a communicator – once asked Jesus: “And who is my neighbour?” (Lk 10:29).

This question can help us to see communication in terms of neighbourliness. We might paraphrase the question in this way: How can we be “neighbourly” in our use of the communications media and in the new environment created by digital technology? I find an answer in the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is also a parable about communication. Those who communicate, in effect, become neighbours.

May our communication be a balm which relieves pain and a fine wine which gladdens hearts. May the light we bring to others not be the result of cosmetics or special effects, but rather of our being loving and merciful neighbours to those wounded and left on the side of the road. Let us boldly become citizens of the digital world.”