Dorota Abdelmoula-Viet – Vatican
Leo XIV received in audience the management of the Italian public television RAI and members of the TG2 television news editorial team. The jubilee meeting was an opportunity to recall the priorities and challenges of journalistic work.
Do not confuse tools and goals when using technology
“There is no technological novelty that could replace creativity, critical discernment, and freedom of thought,” the Pope warned, referring to the experience of the Italian editorial team, which transitioned from analog to digital work. Leo XIV also referred to the contemporary challenge of artificial intelligence in this context and emphasized the need to “order communication according to a human, not a technological, paradigm.” The Pope explains that this means the ability to “ultimately distinguish between tools and goals.”
Openness to truth instead of ideological prejudices
The Holy Father also pointed out that it is impossible to build “good communication, true freedom, or healthy pluralism” without an open view of reality and the rejection of ideological prejudices. “We all know how difficult it is to be surprised by facts, encounters, the gazes and voices of others,” he said. “How strong is the temptation to seek, see, and hear only what confirms our own opinions.”
A polarized world needs models of dialogue
The Pope appreciated the cultural diversity and pluralism of sources that characterize Italian public television. He emphasized that this diversity has become a richness and an example of dialogue, which is very eloquent even in today’s times “dominated by polarizations, ideological closures, slogans that do not allow one to see or understand complex reality.”
Media cannot be a “mouthpiece of power”
“Especially in dramatic circumstances of war, like those we are experiencing, information must guard against the risk of transforming into propaganda,” Leo XIV warned. “And the task of journalists to verify news, so as not to become a mouthpiece of power, becomes even more delicate and urgent, I would say essential.” The Pope also recalled that the task of journalists is to show the suffering associated with war, seen through the eyes of the victims, so that the narrative does not transform into a kind of “video game.” This is a challenge especially in news programs, which consist of several-minute segments.
