His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at Audience: May our means of communication heal you and not trouble you

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims during his weekly General Audience in St Peter's Square (ANSA)

During his Wednesday General Audience, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV encourages the faithful to learn to speak properly, using words that heal and not hurt.

By Vatcian News

Wednesday saw the conclusion of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV's catechetical series on the public life of Jesus, which he described as being marked by encounters, parables, and healings.

Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for his weekly General Audience, the Pope brought everyone's attention to the present, noting that “this time we are living through also needs healing".

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV described today's world as being marked by “a climate of violence and hatred” that deeply wounds human dignity. Our society, he said, is growing ill, not from isolation, but from a kind of overload. “We are hyperconnected,” he said, “bombarded by images, sometimes false or distorted.” Social media, he warned, has produced a kind of emotional 'bulimia', where too much input leaves us exhausted and confused.

In the midst of this, many feel tempted to shut down, continued the Pope. “We might even prefer to feel nothing at all,” he said, noting that words themselves are increasingly fragile. 

The Church, accompanying others

With this in mind, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV reflected the reading, taken from the Gospel of Mark, which recounts the healing of a man who was deaf and mute. The man does not seek healing for himself; he is brought to Jesus by others. These figures, said the Pope, can be seen as an image of the Church - those who accompany others, especially when they have lost their voice or ability to listen.

After meeting Jesus, the man begins to speak again; and this detail, Pope Leo said, reveals a deeper truth. Perhaps he had been silent because he didn’t know how to speak, or didn’t feel adequate. How often,  asked the Pope, do we stop speaking because we feel misunderstood?…

This report was originally published on the Website of Vatican News. Please click here to read the full text.