Real communication requires being 'on the same wavelength,' Pope notes

CWN - November 15, 2010

The Church must constantly seek to proclaim the Gospel message “with renewed creativity, critical sense, and discernment,” Pope Benedict XVI said on November 13 as he met with members of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

The Pope praised the group for choosing to discuss the importance of language at this year’s session, noting that “in order for dialogue and communication to be effective and fruitful it is necessary for people to be on the same wavelength, in places for friendly and sincere encounter.” He thanked the Pontifical Council for taking up his suggestion to create a “Court of the Gentiles” to stimulate broader discussions.

The proliferation of different communications technologies, the Pope observed, has sometimes produced negative effective, especially for your people who, “bemused by the infinite possibilities offered by information networks and other technologies, establish forms of communication that do not contribute to human growth; rather, they risk increasing the sense of solitude and bewilderment.”

Pope Benedict pointed out that effective communication of the Gospel message does not always entail words. It can also be accomplished through “the rich and intense symbolism of the liturgy,” and in the example set by “men and women who speak through their lives, who can communicate the Gospel clearly and courageously with the transparency of their actions and the joyful passion of their charity.”

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