I SAY THESE THINGS TO CHILDREN, BUT SO THAT GROWN UPS WILL ALSO HEAR!
So much technology that allows communication, but so difficult to dialogue...
The 'L'Osservatore Romano' edition of 17 March 2017 had presented the interaction of the Pope with children and was
titled –'Speaking with Children and Young People at Santa Maddalena di Canossa Parish: I ENJOY BEING POPE'
During his pastoral visit to Rome's Santa Maddalena di Canossa Parish on Sunday, 12 March, the Holy Father spent
some time speaking with children and young people, and answered five questions which were first read aloud to him by the
youngsters. Elisabetta asked about his first encounter with Jesus; Patrizio asked whether he was happy being Pope or if he
would rather be a simple parish priest; Sara asked what, if anything, frightens him; Edoardo asked him to share the “most
beautiful moments” of his life; and Camilla asked how to resolve the problem of lack communication brought about modern
technology. The following is a translation of the transcript of the conversation.
Please find below the excerpts of the Holy Father's response to Camilla's Question as to 'How to resolve the problem of
lack of communication, brought about by modern technology?
Parish Priest: (reminds the Pontiff about Camilla's question): "So much technology that allows communication,but so
difficult to dialogue..."
Pope Francis: This question is beautiful, because today we can communicate everywhere. But dialogue is missing.
Think about this.... Close your eyes. Imagine this: at the table, mom, dad, me, my brother, my sister, each one of us with his or her
mobile phone, talking.... Everyone is talking but they are talking outside: there is no talking amongst themselves. Everyone is
communicating, right? Yes, on the telephone, but they are not having a dialogue. This is the problem. The lack of dialogue. And
the lack of listening.
Yesterday, I had a brief meeting, a nice group came to the Vatican - they were more or less 400 people – who belonged to
the association “Telefono Amico” – have you heard about this? – It is an association which is available for “listening”: if you are
sad, if you are depressed, or if you have a problem or a doubt, you can call there and there is always someone who is willing to
listen to you. Listening is the first step in dialoguing, and I think this is a problem which we must resolve. One of the worst
ailments of our time is the poor level of listening skills. As if our ears were blocked. Listening…. Yes, “I am communicating with
the mobile phone”, but you are not listening to those who are near you, you are not having a dialogue, you are in communication
with something else that may not be true communication, it is not dialogue: I say one thing, you say something else, but it is all
virtual. We must have a concrete dialogue, and I am saying this to you, young people.
How do we begin to dialogue? With the ears. Unblocking the ears. Ears open to hearing what is happening. For example:
I am going to visit a sick person and I start talking: “Don't worry, you will get better soon, blablablabla …. Bye, God bless you”.
How often do we do this? The poor sick person remains there…. But he needed to be listened to! When you visit a sick person, be
quiet. Give them a kiss, caress them, one question: “How are you?” and let them talk. They need to let off steam, they need to
complain. They also need to say nothing but to feel that they are being seen and heard. The tongue is in second place; what is in
first place?
Children: Ears.
Pope Francis: I did not hear you.
Children: Ears!
Pope Francis: And which place does the
tongue take? Always second place.Listening.And
from listening to dialogue. And also concrete
dialogue, because the one that takes place with the
mobile phone is virtual; it is “liquid”, not concrete.
The concreteness of dialogue. This is very important.
Do you understand ?
Parish Priest: (The parish priest
indicates)“Holy Father, they are right here, in the
front, the small group that brought up this question.
Pope Francis: Good. Do this: learn to ask
questions: “Oh how are you?” – “Well…” – “What
did you do yesterday…?”. You ask a question and let
the other person speak. This is how dialogue begins.
But let the other person always speak first, and you,
listen closely. This is called “the apostolate of listening”. Do you understand? This is how dialogue works. Back home we have a
saying, that often priests have to “speak to the daughter-in-law so the mother-in-law hears”; and I say these things to children, but
so that grown ups will also hear! We all need to learn these things.
(Courtesy: L'Osservatore Romano, Number 11, Friday 17 March 2017, pp. 4-5)
Social Communication & Media Cell Updates
Province Annual Planner: The Province Annual Planner 2017-18 was released and distributed on the
th joyous occasion of the Provincial Superior's Day on 24 April, 2017. In case you need more copies of the
planner for yourself, your office or your members, please collect the same from the Provincialate. We take
this opportunity to thank all the members for planning their schedules very efficiently and
communicating the same to the Provincialate in due time.
May God Bless You through the year 2017-2018!
Documentaries, Videos & Audios: You could also avail of the documentaries, videos and audios of
the following: Orientation Course Formation House, Theme Song - Vth Provincial Chapter of Affairs,
Mission Experience at Kuiyam, Kanganpur and Baudhin - March 2017, Theme Song - Bathinda Deanery
Youth Convention 2017, Roshni Vistarak-2 - Interview with Sukhdev Singh Dhillon and Inderjeet
Singh Dhillon, etc. The mentioned media material is available in the Provincialate.
- Fr. Adrian Fernandes sfx (Director of Social Communication & Media Cell)
A big thank you to our members and guest contributors for providing data related to your ministries.
May we continue sharing, inspiring and helping each other to generously contribute to build God’s Kingdom.
- Fr. Adrian Fernandes sfx (Editor)