The great communicator John Paul II, the well-organized and coherent Benedict XVI, the Pope Francis who is good at expressing words and manners, and his experience on Vatican Radio, Vatican Television Center and Holy See Press Room , These are the contents described in the recently published book by the Jesuit Father Lombardi.
(Vatican News Network) “Communication with others is a life dimension for all of us”. This is the view of Father Federico Lombardi, a Jesuit priest, who has served as a writer, deputy editor-in-chief, director of Vatican Radio, Vatican Television Center, and Director of the Press Office of the Holy See. He recently published a book titled “The Pope, the Vatican, and Communication: Experience and Reflection.”
Father Lombardi first stated the purpose of writing this book: “I have been asked many times to tell about my work in the Vatican communication community over the past 30 years. I have actually given many lectures, but they are all plots. Sometimes only one person is needed. The Pope, a topic of current affairs, and the ability to advise church communicators and heads of press offices to make speeches. I have had many different speeches in the past few decades, but none of them were systematic.
Now, in the communication industry using new technology, the situation has also changed a lot. I don’t think it is more useful to repeat these remarks. They are said on very specific occasions and circumstances. However, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Vatican Radio, I picked up these speeches again, thinking that maybe this is a good time to pick some of them, put them together in an orderly manner, so that there is a wire, and use them as points. Re-propose it like a memory of an experience, not as a remark on the issue of communication at this time. This is the purpose of writing this book. “
During these years of work, Father Lombardi never felt that he was the pope’s spokesperson. He told this news network that this was because he believed that the pope himself was speaking directly to the people of God, and there were many. Therefore, “popes are not people who hide themselves and need someone else’s endorsement, but people who speak loudly, loudly and expressively”. They have been the same to this day, and Pope Francis is a typical example.
“That’s why I feel that the definition of a spokesperson is not suitable for the type of work I do. This work is just to provide assistance to this important voice, the voice of the Pope. Navarro has worked longer, and he is more It reflects the theme of the Pope’s spokesperson, which means that he has worked very directly with John Paul II over a long period of time, so in a sense, he is the spokesperson of the Pope.
Therefore, I think it is more appropriate to call him the spokesperson. As for me, what I have is not exactly the kind of role that Navarro played in an authoritative way. I have always preferred the title of news director. If someone wants to say that I am the spokesperson of the Vatican and the Pope, they can say so, but I don’t think that is my service. “
Nearly three popes have different personalities and different ways of spreading. Father Lombardi said that they have different styles. “John Paul II was a man of very strong character, and he was also very prominent from the point of view of communication. His pastoral ministry was very long, and he was able to convey information through pastoral journeys in very different situations and places. He also has a talent for expression, able to express his speech with past dramatic experience, and therefore has a very important ability to express yin and yang. All these characteristics are presented through images and audio.”
Regarding Benedict XVI, Father Lombardi said, “As we all know, he is more a theologian, a man of profound culture, his thoughts are very clear and methodical, he hopes to make arguments, and his thoughts are coherent, for example , Expressed in the dialogue with the masses. We say that this is a style of cultural people, using words and words to express more than gestures.”
Speaking of Pope Francis, Father Lombardi said: “We all know that he has incredible verbal skills, showing his closeness to the crowd, experience, and life experienced, no matter what a simple word, It is still a characteristic gesture. What I want to say is that this is just getting close to and participating in the lives of everyone.”
Father Lombardi worked for Vatican Radio for 27 years, first as the director of the program department and then as the director. Later, there was the experience of the Holy See Press Room and the director of the Vatican Television Center. These positions sometimes overlapped, but allowed him to understand the overall picture of the Vatican spread. He explained the operation of these tasks and said, “First of all, these institutions have a common mission, and their goals are to serve the gospel, especially through the Pope’s service to the gospel. Therefore, these missions are not scattered. The purpose of these institutions is It’s also more or less the same.”
“Furthermore, these institutions are very close in distance. You don’t have to travel back and forth. They can be reached within a few minutes on foot. I am also willing to come out and breathe in the air. There are excellent collaborators in the three institutions I serve, so it is easy and automatic. Share the responsibilities with them. I can’t do everything, it’s absolutely impossible, and I’ve never thought of it that way. Therefore, this is a mission, close and collaborative group. In addition, these institutions have always been accustomed to working with each other, Even in our era, different media have different tools and languages. But in fact, all these people are very familiar with each other, and they know how to cooperate for a common mission when necessary.
I experienced this in particular during the transitional period of the Pope’s pastoral ministry. This is the highlight of our all dedicated communications work, which has attracted the attention of thousands of journalists and the world. I have experienced such scenes at least 3 times, and everyone has worked together to perform this common service for the church life and the communication work of the important moments we are in.
For me, these moments are also very beautiful, moments of mutual experience and cooperation. In my memory, those days are not about hard work, but about the joy of working together. Even with the passage of time and the integration of the digital world, we understand that further integration is necessary and reasonable, not one person leading different institutions to reflect unity. But we say that something more organic and profound means the unified nature of this mission. “
Finally, Father Lombardi used his own experience to present his views on the future of the spread of the Catholic Church. He said, “The spread into history, the events of the church in the world and the faith of our time reflect this evolution of the situation, try to interpret and interpret it, and do so in dialogue with people in the world today. In addition, in a In the increasingly interactive world of communication, the form of dialogue with the era in which we live has become increasingly intense over the years.”
“Sometimes we encounter serious problems and ambiguities, so we always need to interpret and clarify, so that we can spread the message we care about, that is, the message of the gospel, the gospel that is living in our time in a positive and correct way. Message. This is the mission that the church fulfills in the scope of spreading and interacting with everyone around us, who we meet and talk with every day. The formula is changing, and this is because the form of communication in the world is changing.”
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