Interview
The Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications of the Holy See illustrates the Pope’s message for the next World Communications Day. “Francis’ invitation – Msgr. Viganò said – is to offer storylines made of light and shadows, of sin and grace, always extending the gaze, intelligence and heart of the reader or of the spectator towards a horizon, which far from denying the tragedies of our present times, is capable of identifying, or at least of perceiving, possible paths of hope.”
“Pope Francis’ communication is disarming. The extreme simplicity and spontaneity of his words, accompanied by gestures, succeed in conveying substantial symbolic complexities, instilling a thought of remarkable fineness and culture. That is why he is disarming.” We met Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, Prefect of the Secretariat for Communication of the Holy See on May 19, shortly before the release of the first documentary-film on Pope Francis, titled “Pope Francis. A man of his word”, directed and produced by German film director Wim Wenders. “Through cinema – Viganò told SIR – the Pope intends to adopt a new tool to reach out to the community as a whole, made of men and women of all cultures and faiths, in the yearning to answer their questions,” keeping to the message for the next World Communications Day «Fear not, for I am with you» (Is 43:5). Communicating Hope and Trust in our Time.” We focused on this theme with the Prefect of the Secretariat.
Mons. Viganò, could you help us grasp some of the nuances of the Pope’s message?
The first, probably the most important, is found in the title. We find ample reference to “communicating hope and trust in our time”, while Isaiah’s prophetic phrase, “Fear not, for I am with you” (43,5) is left aside. Instead, it is a quotation of great import: Isaiah refers to God’s act of consolation towards His people.
As if to say: open up your hearts to the consolation of God’s presence and your communication will show you the way of hope and trust.
The “stiff-necked people” described in the Scriptures that grew distant from the Lord, that undertook paths of dispersion, experienced the disease of being “spiritual orphans” – as Pope Francis says – need for God to confirm their closeness. By doing so they will be able to resume their journey, to retrace the steps of the covenant. Also forms of communication that increasingly venture in the recesses of violence and obscurity, seeking growing visibility to the detriment of relevance, need to recover consolation.
Communication is not only a realm that can expose to sin – just think of informants, gossip, catastrophism –. It is also one of closeness, tenderness. That is why: “fear not, for I am with you.”
Does this consolation stem from “the open and creative style of communication”, from the “storylines that are at heart “good news” described by Francis?
Certainly! But we must be careful not to give in to the criteria of do-goodery, which is not what the Pope recommends. He makes it clear: “This has nothing to do with spreading misinformation that would ignore the tragedy of human suffering, nor is it about a naive optimism blind to the scandal of evil.” Francis goes on to say that we ought to seek “an open and creative style of communication that never seeks to glamourize evil but instead to concentrate on solutions and to inspire a positive and responsible approach on the part of its recipients.” Hence,
It is not a question of opposing the logic of bad news against an equally powerful yet opposite logic of good news. In fact, while the former is distant from the truth, the latter distorts it.
Instead, the Pope’s invitation is to offer storylines made of light and shadows, of sin and grace, always extending the gaze, intelligence and heart of the reader or of the spectator towards a horizon, which far from denying the tragedies of our present times, is capable of identifying, or at least of perceiving, possible paths of hope.
Moreover, wishing to highlight one of the many passages, it could be said that “everything depends on the way we look at things, on the lens we use to view them.” This is a very effective and evocative image, along with many others used by the Pope.
The Holy Father often makes use of images: they are more easy to commit to memory and pave the way to a plethora of reflections. From this perspective Francis not only proves to be a perfect storyteller, he also fills the gap separating life and its representation, drawing the interlocutors close to his symbolical realm, regardless of their nationality or social background. He thus touches everyone’s heart:
He manages to tear down the veil interposed between people, believers and non-believers alike, and to stand on the threshold in dialogue.
The Pope’s speeches are successful communications not only in their simplicity and straightforwardness, but also because, as stated in Evangelii gaudium (15), each one of his acts of communication is rooted in the will and the desire to communicate, hence to narrate reality through the joy of the Gospel. Images thus become more effective.
“Hope is the humblest of virtues, for it remains hidden in the recesses of life; yet it is like the yeast that leavens all the dough”, the Pope writes.
The Pope has been dedicating Wednesday catechesis to Christian hope. He thus declared on December 7 2016 in explaining the meaning of this journey: “Christian hope is very important, because hope never disappoints. Optimism disappoints, but hope does not! We have such need, in these times which appear dark, in which we sometimes feel disoriented at the evil and violence which surrounds us, at the distress of so many of our brothers and sisters. We need hope!”
Also communication needs hope!
Next month, on June 27, the Secretariat will “celebrate” two years since its establishment. It’s one of the fruits of the reform process wanted by Francis. In this regard, in the speech to participants in the first plenary assembly of the dicastery the Pope once again charted the way forward. “Reform is not whitewashing over things”, he said. “It’s to give them a different form… And it must be done intelligently, kindly, but also, also — allow me to use the word — with a bit of “violence”, but good, soft violence, in order to reform things.”
A bit of good violence means to proceed with determination and without hesitation. In fact a restructuring process must envisage making “mistakes” in order to avoid being excessively bound to a given idea, thereby testing out a different path.
There should never be indecision or hesitation!
For they cause uncertainties and in most cases lead to irreversible damage. Obviously the reference to determination is due to the fact that within this major reform process, involving some 700 people, marked by the need to find solutions at various levels, there are those who still tend to count on past avenues rather than undertake the path indicated by the Holy Father.
The Gospel makes it clear: only “those who are born anew”, and thus are inhabited by the Holy Spirit, know how to be creative and free.
The launch of the new portal is awaited with great anticipation. When will it be online?
It is a major, complex endeavour that involves engineers, architects, graphic designers, workflow managers… namely a large variety of experts for the development of a new multimedia channel, enhancing all that each Vatican media outlet can offer, based on their background of experience. We will be seeing only the tip of the iceberg, the interface between the Holy See and the rest of the world, which is the result of a huge amount of work carried out by many people. When will it be available? Let’s hope after the summer… I am quite confident that it will happen by the end of the year.
