There are violent words and, on the contrary, mild words that can change your life.
On the Sunday of the Word of God, a celebration desired by Pope Francis five years ago to sensitize Christians to reading and listening to the Scriptures,
social media and haters end up under the spotlight with their violent words, coming from anonymous but often even with their 'signature',
they contribute to the growth of a poisoned social climate.
"While society and social media accentuate the violence of words - underlined Pope Francis in the homily of the mass in St. Peter's Basilica -, let us embrace the meekness of the Word that saves, which is gentle, which makes no noise, which enters the heart "
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This
word that "does not make noise" but "saves"
is the Gospel and the Pope returns to advise always carrying it with you in your bag or "in your cell phone", because the Word of God is like a compass that can guide Christians in life daily.
It is not the first time that Pope Francis warns against the language used on social networks.
In July 2022, in a message to a group of Catholic communicators, he had already expressed himself clearly against the haters: "The use of digital media, in particular social media, has raised a certain number of serious ethical questions" because "at times and in some places, media sites have become places of toxicity, hate speech and fake news."
Last December, on the occasion of Christmas greetings to Vatican employees, he underlined that we live in the "time of make-up, not only of the face but also of the soul, and this is bad, especially through so-called social media".
At the Angelus, Pope Francis instead returned to the international issues that concern him most, such as the many conflicts for which it seems difficult to find a way out.
The Pontiff's thought, speaking of wars, was today for the suffering of children: "Let us not tire of invoking the Lord for peace in Ukraine, in Israel, in Palestine and in many other parts of the world. Those who suffer the lack of it are always the weakest. I think of the little ones, of the many children injured and killed, of those deprived of affection, deprived of dreams and a future. We feel the responsibility to pray and build peace for them".
Prayer: the Pope announced, in view of the Jubilee of 2025, a year entirely dedicated to prayer.
There is "an absolute need for it," he said, "in personal life, in the Church and in the world."
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