In his message for the workshop World Communications Day (24-I-2014), Pope Francis proposes that communication be at the service of an authentic culture of meeting.

Growing in humanity through the digital world. In our day, he writes, "the media can help us to feel closer to one another, to perceive a renewed sense of the unity of the human family that impels us to solidarity and serious commitment to a more dignified life for all".

Communicating well, he goes on to explain, helps us financial aid to know each other better and be more united, under certain conditions: it helps us to break down the walls that divide us, "if we are willing to listen and learn from each other"; to dialogue and to meeting if we are "willing not only to give, but also to receive from others". In this sense, the message is highly positive. With regard to communication networks, he affirms that "the Internet can offer greater possibilities for meeting and solidarity among all; and this is a good thing, it is a gift from God".

At the same time, it recognizes the problematic aspects, the limits: the speed with which information follows one another exceeds our capacity for reflection and judgment, and does not allow for adequate self-expression; the variety of opinions expressed can lock us into our own interests, isolating us from others, and especially from those next to us; and then there are those who do not have access to these social media, who run the risk of being excluded.

But it is important to notice and underline: the limits and drawbacks of the media should not lead us to reject them, but to perceive that "communication is, in final, a more human than technological conquest". And how can we grow in humanity through the digital world?

These are the very concrete paths that the Pope proposes: recovering a sense of slowness and calm, of time and silence, of listening and reflection, of welcoming others, of appreciating the differences of cultures and traditions. In this way, he adds, "we will also know how to better appreciate the great values inspired by Christianity, for example, the vision of man as a person, marriage and the family, the distinction between the religious sphere and the political sphere, the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, among others".

2. meeting and testimony staff on the digital network . Taking up a vocabulary dear to him, it is a matter of promote a culture of meeting, despite our limits and sins. How to do it? This question is similar, says the Pope, to the one posed to Jesus when he was asked: Who is my neighbor? (Lk. 10:29).

We can now translate it thus, "How does 'proximity' manifest itself in the use of media and in the new environment created by digital technology?"

The Lord's answer with the parable of the Good Samaritan is also a good answer to our question. That man not only approaches, but "becomes position" of the other, he becomes a fellow human being for those who need him. "To communicate means, therefore, to become aware that we are human beings, children of God".

goal On the other hand, he points out, "when the main purpose of communication is to induce consumption or manipulation of people, we are faced with a violent aggression", such as the one that the man had suffered, leaving him half dead.

How can we make ourselves position of others, become more human, experience true "encounters" in the digital space? "It is not enough - Pope Francis observes - to pass through the digital 'streets', that is, simply to be connected: it is necessary that the connection be accompanied by a true meeting".

It is necessary, he proposes, that we see and live the digital network not as a network of cables but above all of human beings. And for this it is necessary to put oneself at stake: "The commitment staff is the very root of the reliability of a communicator". Well, "precisely for this reason Christian witness, thanks to network, can reach the existential peripheries".

3. Opening doors in the digital world. The digital streets, like other streets, are "populated by humanity, often wounded," by people seeking salvation or hope. Just as we must open the doors of the Church (in a physical sense and also spiritually, personally and institutionally), we must also open them in the digital world, "both so that people can enter, in whatever condition of life they find themselves, and so that the Gospel can cross the threshold of the temple and go out to meeting of all."

That is why what is important in this area, the Pope points out, are not the bombardments of religious messages; but the willingness to give oneself to others, as Benedict XVI pointed out speaking of this topic, "through the availability to respond patiently and respectfully to their questions and their doubts on the path of the search for truth and the meaning of human existence"(Message for the XLVII workshop World Social Communications, 2013).

Pope Francis gives the example of the conversation of Jesus - the greatest communicator of all times - with the disciples of Emmaus. It is a challenge that "requires depth, attention to life, spiritual sensitivity". To dialogue means to be convinced that the other person has something good to say, to accept his point of view, his proposals". Dialoguing," he clarifies, "does not mean renouncing one's own ideas and traditions, but renouncing the pretension that they are unique and absolute".

In short, in order for our communication to be positive, both in human terms and in terms of openness to the faith, the Pope advises us, we must "approach with love and tenderness those whom we meet on the road who are wounded. And with committee comes the impulse and encouragement: "Do not be afraid to become citizens of the digital world". We are facing a "great and exciting challenge that requires renewed energy and a new imagination to transmit to others the beauty of God".

It is worthwhile to embark on this path, new for many of us, almost connatural for other younger people, also to educate in dialogue and witness, which are the main channels for meeting in the digital world, and therefore also for advertisement and the transmission of the faith.