In one of the first audiences of 2024, Pope Francis received professionals from the German Catholic media. He only delivered the prepared speech, including on the Synodal Path, and instead greeted around 30 journalists individually. “Pray for me, not against me,” he previously urged them as a group.
Here is the manuscript of the speech that Pope Francis presented this Thursday in an audience with a delegation from the Society of Catholic Journalists of Germany. This…
Gudrun Sailer – Vatican City
In his speech, which is considered delivered, Francis called on Catholic media workers to defend peace, freedom and human dignity with their work. Today, many media outlets use false reporting and polarizing texts to fuel conflicts rather than resolve them. The Pope asked his guests to get involved in “linguistic disarmament”. A “demilitarized” heart through lived faith and the Gospel helps, says the Pope’s speech.
In the audience
Regarding the Synodal Path of the Church, Francis regretted once again that the faithful and bishops in Germany have not “perceived, considered and implemented more clearly” the letter he wrote to them in 2019. He considers, first and foremost, the spiritual dimension and, secondly, the dimension of the universal Church as indispensable for the process of reforming the Church. The text of the speech speaks of “docility to the Holy Spirit and not to the spirit of the times” and, without being more specific, warns against having only one's own cultural horizon in mind. When reporting on the Church's reform process, Francis – according to the text of his speech – sees Catholic media professionals called to seek mutual understanding and not deepen divisions between different groups.
In the audience
He also called on Catholic media professionals in Germany to always think of the poor and disadvantaged, children, families and “the migrants and refugees that Germany has welcomed in large numbers” in their reporting. “Start with them, with their reality, with their problems and with their hopes, even if that means swimming against the current and walking on the ground!”
Francis received a delegation from the Society of Catholic Journalists of Germany on the occasion of his 75th birthday. The hearing lasted about 20 minutes.
(Vatican news – gs)