Pope to Italian newspaper: Foster dialogue and resist polarization

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

“The free press, and more generally all media, have this extraordinary task: to educate by informing, and thus to contribute to the building of a more just and peaceful world.”

Pope Leo XIV made this observation in his letter addressed to the editor of the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, Claudio Cerasa, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its founding. The message was dated January 23 and released on Saturday, January 31.

“In years of such profound change, the presence of a plural offering in the field of information, to which you have contributed through your work,” the Pope wrote, “has been and continues to be a guarantee of freedom.”

He argued that without this, "there is no freedom of thought, but rather the denial of the dignity of every human being and of his or her right to think.”

The Pope encouraged the free press to resist "extremist and misleading polarization that reduces reality to a parody of itself," where cultural and religious roots are reduced "to mere labels" and thought is turned into "a simple calculation."

Finally, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that journalists should distinguish between objective reporting of facts and the presentation of opinions, which “should always remain open to dialogue."

He expressed his hope that Il Foglio will remain “animated by this desire to build a future made of encounters, not of clashes, and to defend the beauty of our lives.”