Dr. Ruffini to Catholic sisters: We are the stories we share

By Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

At a conference in the Vatican for religious sisters taking part in the Jubilee for Communication, Dr. Paolo Ruffini encouraged Catholic sisters to help “fan the flame of hope in today’s world.”

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication (our parent entity) underscored how essential communication is in intertwining the threads of life.

He spoke on Thursday, January 23, during the sisters' side event of the Jubilee of the World of Communications at the Vatican Apostolic Library.

We are what we share

The Prefect recalled the need to share stories of hope, which builds community and unify the people.

"We really are the stories we share,” he said. “We can narrate to each other stories of love and compassion or stories of hate and division. But all of us, in one way or another, know that at the very end, we are one.”

As communicators, our task is to ensure that no one is marginalized, since we are all members of the same family and children of God.

“Communication is what can make us realize that this is not a way of saying, but a way of better living. It is communication that can unite or divide us,” he said.

Love is the first source of communication

Dr. Ruffini reflected that the early Christians were recognized because of the love they shared, adding that communication is a gift and should be freely shared.

He noted that communication has continually evolved due to technological advancements from the printing press to the radio and cameras to the digital age of the internet, social media, and Artificial Intelligence.

Through all change, Dr. Ruffini noted, religious sisters can shape communication.

“Today, we are at a change of era,” he said. “We have in our hands the ability to shape the future. We have the chance to weave the communion that unites us every day.”

At the same time, he warned, “We can also squander this opportunity. Communication can be the good soil where good fruit is born or the desert where everything is doomed to die.”

No communication without communion

Dr. Ruffini pointed out that modern media can either unite or divide people, even in the Church.

“We could say that communion among us is actually the most powerful means of communication that the Church has,” he said. “There is no communication without communion. And there is no communion if there is no communication.”

He invited Catholic sisters to set ambitious communication goals and overcome the challenges they may face individually.

“It is up to us to embody in the digital world the spirit of Pentecost,” he said. “Even when it seems impossible, we know that is possible. We know that together we are the hope we are looking for, we are the good soil, and we are the platform where to share the good and the beautiful.”