Caption Archbishop Eamon Martin greets guest speakers Paola Arriaza and Colm Flynn during the ‘Communicating Christian Hope’ seminar today at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth (Catholic Communications Office archive)
Address by Archbishop Eamon Martin at the ‘Communicating Christian Hope’ seminar to celebrate the universal Jubilee’s ‘Year of Hope’ and the fiftieth anniversary of the Bishops’ Catholic Communications Office
There’s something rather incongruous about the recent sight of thousands of mobile phones and sophisticated TV cameras all pointed up at the roof of the Sistine Chapel to capture the latest breaking news – from a chimney! But then again, from ancient times to the modern day, we, the People of God, have used whatever technology is available to spread the Good News – from tablets of stone to fancy Galaxy Tabs!
Communication is what makes Church happen. One of the first major documents to emerge from the Second Vatican Council was the Decree Inter Mirifica in 1963, on the media of social communications. It begins with these words:
‘Among the wonderful technological discoveries which men of talent … have made with God’s help, the Church welcomes and promotes with special interest those which have … uncovered new avenues of communicating… news, views and teachings of every sort.’
I am delighted to welcome you all here today for our Jubilee Year seminar on communications – in which we are not only marking the Jubilee Year of Hope, but also our own 50th anniversary in the Catholic Communications Office, which was founded by Bishop Edward Daly in 1975. I also welcome viewers who are joining us by live-stream on our Facebook page.
Last Sunday, on the Feast of the Ascension, we promoted the message composed by Pope Francis for the 59th World Day of Social Communications, in which he invited us, especially in this Jubilee Year, to be ‘communicators of hope’ in the spirit of the Gospel.
Too often nowadays, Pope Francis told us, communication generates not hope, but fear and despair, prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; it can use words ‘like a razor’, or always seem to be seeking ‘an enemy to lash out against’; sometimes it even uses false or distorted information to manipulate public opinion, or to send messages which are designed to agitate, provoke or hurt.
Instead, in his message for World Communications Day 2025, Pope Francis welcomes and promotes what he calls ‘disarming communication’. He cites that inspiring quotation from the First Letter of Peter (3:15-16):
‘Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.’
Pope Francis is clear that the hope we Christians are communicating has a face – it is the face of the risen Lord. We are called to accompany others – as Jesus did with his two companions on the Road to Emmaus – so that their hearts burn within them.
This is my favourite passage from Pope Francis’ Message:
‘I dream of a communication capable of making us fellow travelers, walking alongside our brothers and sisters and encouraging them to hope in these troubled times. A communication capable of speaking to the heart, arousing not passionate reactions of defensiveness and anger, but attitudes of openness and friendship. A communication capable of focusing on beauty and hope even in the midst of apparently desperate situations, and generating commitment, empathy and concern for others. …
‘I dream of a communication that does not peddle illusions or fears, but is able to give reasons for hope … To do this, though, we must be healed of our “diseases” of self-promotion and self-absorption, and avoid the risk of shouting over others in order to make our voices heard. A good communicator ensures that those who listen, read or watch can be involved, can draw close, can get in touch with the best part of themselves and enter with these attitudes into the stories told.’
I invite you to reflect today on what is the Hope that we wish to communicate to our troubled world. They used to say that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me’. We all know that is simply not true. The content of our communication, and the manner in which we do it, will either add to the despair in the world around us, or light a candle to help dispel the darkness.
Our guest speakers and contributors today will offer their suggestions on the theme of communicating hope, but, in a spirit of listening and consultation, we’d also like to provide you, our participants, with an opportunity to share and generate new ideas for how we Pilgrims of Hope communicate both ad intra and ad extra.
Remember, the Hope that we are communicating is not some catchy key messages in a communications strategy document – we are called to communicate a person – Jesus Christ, our Saviour, the Redeemer of the world. The medium and the message of our communication is none other than the Word of God.
Pope Francis was no longer with us this year to highlight his Communications Day Message on Ascension Sunday. But it is interesting to note what Pope Leo XIV tweeted out on the X platform last Sunday:
‘On #WorldCommunicationsDay, I would like to repeat Pope Francis’ invitation to tell stories of hope and disarm communication of all prejudice, resentment, and fanaticism. Let us share a different outlook on the world through communication that is disarmed and disarming.’
Pope Leo used similar words to international media personnel just a couple of days after his election:
‘Let us disarm words,’ he said, ‘and we will help to disarm the world… Disarmed and disarming communication allows us to share a different view of the world and to act in a manner consistent with our human dignity.’
It is important to remember of course that communication which is ‘disarmed and disarming’ does not imply weakness in our message. On the contrary, as the letter go the Hebrews puts it, ‘the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart’ (Hebrews 4:12).
Pope Leo made this clear when he spoke to members of the Holy See Diplomatic Corps three weeks ago (16 May 2025):
‘The Church’, he said, ‘can never be exempted from speaking the truth about humanity and the world, resorting whenever necessary to blunt language that may initially create misunderstanding. Yet truth can never be separated from charity, which always has at its root a concern for the life and well-being of every man and woman … Truth does not create division, but rather enables us to confront all the more resolutely the challenges of our time, such as migration, the ethical use of artificial intelligence and the protection of our beloved planet Earth.’
The world needs our message of hope. Let us reflect together at our gathering today on this concept of a communication that is ‘disarmed and disarming’; the communication of Hope, which opens up opportunities for encounter with Jesus Christ, who is Way, the Truth and the Life.
In this context I would like to introduce you to our new unified digital multimedia platform, which we are calling ‘the Way’: and which you will have seen rotating on the overhead as you came in this morning. Our vision is that The Way.ie will be a national online network, serving as a hub for content that every diocese and parish can integrate into their own digital presence, and which everyone can avail of as a communication and education resource for the faith.
We want TheWay.ie to be a digital space of encounter, where people can discover the faith, live the faith and pass on the faith. It will be for both seekers and followers. We see the platform evolving as we learn more and more by doing. And we want today’s discussions to inform our new platform and so we invite you to share ideas with us to help give TheWay.ie a heart and soul, so that it can be a hub where Hope is generated and communicated. In introducing this ‘launch version’ to you today, we invite you to help us imagine what the site can become and what might be its potential for gathering, sharing and commissioning content to support participation and mission in the Church.
Thank you for listening and I hope that you enjoy our contributors today.
ENDS
- Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh is Primate of All Ireland and chair of the Council for Communications of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.