By Edoardo Giribaldi
Stories of hope and synodality must be shared confidently amid the world’s darkest moments, because “at the right time, a flower will bloom.”
In a world facing “growing polarization” and a “loss of trust” in institutions, the Church has opened itself to “authentic listening” during the latest Synod Assembly—sometimes even allowing itself to be “wounded” by the weight of certain words. Yet, when not used as “weapons,” words become the prelude to discussions of “hope and life,” which the world needs now more than ever.
It was in this spirit that the webinar “CommunicAction for Building Community” was held on Feb 12, promoted by NetOne in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the Dicastery for Communication, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Synodal Path of the Church in Italy, TV2000 and InBlu2000, SIR, Sophia University Institute, the Association of Italian Catholic Web (Weca), the Città Nuova publishing group, and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
The event followed a previous discussion on March 7, 2024, titled “What Kind of Communication for Synodality?”
Speakers included Alessandro Gisotti, Deputy Editorial Director of Vatican Media; Kim Daniels, Member of the Dicastery for Communication, coordinator of the Synodal Study Group on Mission in the Digital Environment, and professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.; and Erica Tossani, member of the Presidency of the First Synodal Assembly of the Church in Italy.
Moderating the discussions were Sara Fornaro, web editor-in-chief of Città Nuova, and Enrico Selleri, host at TV2000.
“Every Story Is Great and Worthy”
“Communication, action, and community”—these were the three key terms identified by Mr Gisotti, drawing from the webinar’s title, to emphasize a form of communication that merges the Jubilee’s hope with the synodal journey, a cornerstone of the recent Bishops’ Assembly: “Setting out on a journey,” and accompanying “the people yet to come.”
Regarding the ‘how’ of such communicaiton, Mr Gisotti referenced the words of Giorgio Gaber: “Freedom is participation,” advocating for a style of communication that “wears out the soles of one’s shoes,” by being close, especially to the “existential peripheries” so dear to Pope Francis.
Freedom is often denied to journalists—today, more than 500 reporters are imprisoned.
The way information is shared has changed and will continue to change, Mr Gisotti noted, “but the values that should guide journalism remain the same: the pursuit of truth, honesty, and responsibility.” These principles take shape in one of the “great strengths” of “communication of hope”: stories.
Seeds planted in the winters of the world, with the certainty that “at the right time, the flower will bloom.” Pope Francis himself affirmed this in February 2019, returning from Abu Dhabi after signing the Document on Human Fraternity.
At the time, Mr Gisotti, serving as the interim Director of the Holy See Press Office, called it a “historic event.” Before the customary in-flight press conference, Pope Francis added: “Every journey is historic. Every story is great and worthy. And even if it is painful, if dignity is hidden, it can always emerge.”
“A Truly Synodal Church in the Digital Age”
Drawing from her experience as coordinator of the synodal study group on the Church’s mission in digital spaces, Ms Daniels reflected on the Church’s “story” and the narrative it must share with the world.
“The world’s oldest institution, often perceived as stuck in the past,” has embarked on a “global listening process” to understand its mission in modern times and spaces.
Ms Daniels analyzed the U.S. context, wounded by “growing polarization,” a reality shared by many societies, which has led to a “loss of trust in institutions, including the Church.”
Despite this, divisions and individualism did not prevail at the Synodal Assembly, where the entire ecclesial community sought ways to “walk together despite differences.”
Key moments of the event, Ms Daniels noted, included the increased participation of women and laypeople in Church decision-making—an experience enthusiastically documented by the young team managing the Synod’s social media.
The Synod recognized digital spaces as a new “missionary page,” an opportunity to engage younger generations—not by “trapping them” in virtual spaces but by guiding them “toward authentic human relationships rooted in Christ.”
The vision, Ms Daniels concluded, is of a “truly synodal Church in the digital age,” capable of “listening, accompanying, and helping people deepen their relationship with God and others.”
“The Need for Words That Inspire Hope and Life”
Not only the “how,” but also the “what” to communicate was the focus of Ms Tossani’s reflection. She emphasized an open posture nurtured by listening—again, to “stories,” without which “true communication cannot exist.”
Engaging with reality requires adapting the language used to narrate it. This is not about a “strategic adjustment” but recognizing human experience as “the ultimate theological space.”
The hope is for a Church that speaks with “the flavor of life.”
The synodal journey has helped the community adopt a communication style far from the prevailing “back-and-forth argumentation,” where statements go unheard because they are only met with rebuttals.
Instead, “authentic listening” challenges, unsettles, and sometimes even “wounds,” but it does so in a way that leads to deeper, more meaningful conversations over time.
Rejecting this vision, Ms Tossani warned, reduces words to “weapons,” at a time when Pope Francis urges us to be “disarmed—first in the heart, then in our words.”
Instead of ideological debates where “everyone speaks just to assert their own idea,” we must create spaces for dialogue where there is no “winner over another,” but rather shared projects and ideas.
For the future and everyday life, these aspirations require a true “education in listening,” in a world “that desperately needs words that inspire hope and life.”
Overcoming the “Culture of Silence”
Actress Stefania Bogo read excerpts from Pope Francis’ latest encyclical Dilexit Nos and The Attraction of the Modern World by Chiara Lubich, providing a reflective backdrop for the internationally attended webinar.
Joining from Hungary, Professor Pál Tóth of Sophia University Institute noted that the local Church remains too often bound by a “culture of silence,” where people remain quiet “for fear of disturbing a fragile harmony.”
Mr Tóth called for a synodal communication that is deeply rooted in community, open to encounter, and engaged in “active relationships” with real-life events—moving beyond social “bubbles,” the new, closed forms of social aggregation.
Muriel Fleury and Beatrice Binaghi from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development reflected on the “frantic” pace of modern information and the need to forge lasting connections between “the stories of those who suffer” and the rest of the world.
In this spirit, the event recalled a meeting in Panama, where bishops responsible for migration ministry across borders convened to coordinate their efforts after years of working independently.
In the end, as communicators of hope, the challenge remains: not just to “stay connected,” but to be “truly united.” – Vatican News
