Pope Leo XIV urged Catholic communicators to help ensure that digital platforms serve the common good and warned that online communication shapes culture, public perception, and the collective conscience.
Archbishop Arnaldo S. Catalan, apostolic nuncio to Rwanda, read the pope’s message during the opening of the SIGNIS World Congress in Kigali on Aug. 4.
The message, dated July 30 and signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, conveyed Pope Leo’s “cordial greetings and the assurance of his spiritual closeness” to participants.
“It is his hope that your deliberations will contribute to a new impetus for ensuring that communication platforms advance the common good of the human family,” the message read.
Pope Leo noted that digital technology and the internet increasingly shape people’s daily lives.
“Our era is often referred to as the digital age, since so much of our lives is driven by digital technology and the internet,” he said.
Citing his encyclical letter Magnifica Humanitas, the pope said digital communication does more than transmit information.
“Online communication is not simply the transmission of information, but the creation of a culture, as it has the power to shape the way people perceive the world and thereby profoundly influences the collective conscience,” the pontiff said.
Pope Leo called on congress participants to examine how digital communication could promote cultural harmony and environmental well-being while remaining grounded in truth and respect for human dignity.
He expressed hope that their reflections on the theme, “Digital Communication for Cultural Harmony and Environmental Wellbeing,” would “seek ways to promote communication strategies and tools that are inspired by the pursuit of truth and respect for human dignity.”
“In this way, your work will lead to a culture that reflects the Gospel values of communion, peace, and environmental stewardship,” he said.
The pope entrusted the congress participants to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and assured them of his prayers that their efforts would “bear lasting fruit.”
He also imparted his apostolic blessing “as a pledge of wisdom and strength in the Lord.”
SIGNIS, or the World Catholic Association for Communication, is recognized by the Vatican as an International Association of the Faithful with the mission to “help transform cultures in the light of the Gospel by promoting human dignity, justice, and reconciliation.”
It has consultative status with UNESCO, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, in Geneva and New York, and the Council of Europe.
