World Communications Day

World Day of the Sick was established to give attention to the ill and their caregivers; Catholic Press Month celebrates the role of Catholic publications to inform, educate and evangelize the people of God.

“Listening with the ear of the heart” is the theme of this year’s World Communications Day, which most dioceses will mark May 29, the Sunday before Pentecost.

“We Catholics can, and should, be role models for others in how to listen and dialogue in service to the truth and the common good.”

In the search for truth, Catholic communicators must learn how to listen above all else, the Vatican said.

In the age of instant communications and fake news, journalists — like everyone else — need to recover the practice of going out and verifying information before they share it, Pope Francis said.

The theme for the January 2021 celebration of World Communications Day is “Come and see: Communicating, encountering people as and where they are.”

Catholic media outlets also can provide “basic tools” to the faithful “to spot” false stories.

With fake news becoming ever more sophisticated, people need the wisdom, courage and patience to discern and embrace constructive stories, Pope Francis said.