Pope urges families to talk, not text
Pope Francis urged families in a message released Friday to put their gadgets aside and re-engage in conversation.
"The great challenge facing us today is to learn once again how to talk one another, not simply how to generate and consume information," he said in a message for the church's World Social Communications Day, which will take place in May.
The pope conceded that modern media is an essential part of every young person's life, but warned that "the media can be a hindrance if they become a way to avoid listening to others, to avoid physical contact."
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Rather, the pope said, modern media was important in helping family members keep in contact, to thank others or seek forgiveness or to "open doors to new encounters."
Francis said parents need help from the Christian community in teaching children "how to live in a media environment in a way consistent with the dignity of the human person and service of the common good."
The speech was released on the eve of the feast of St. Francis of Sales, the patron saint of journalists. The theme of families also coincides with Francis' two-year focus on families, which Francis said should be seen as a rich resource rather than as institution in crisis.
In his message, the pope held up the family unit as a model for all communication, saying the family is where we first learn to communicate and learn to live with others despite our differences. The family, he said, is where we learn to create and recognize closeness, and where we learn our limits and those of others.
Francis called the family the place where humans learn to forgive.
"We should not be fearful of imperfections, weakness or even conflict," said the pontiff. "The family, where we keep loving one another despite our limits and sins, thus becomes a school of forgiveness."