In a way, this is what a journalist does, choosing to personally touch the wounds of society and the world – Pope Francis
Journalist Michael Mumo recalled his encounter with Pope Francis on a papal flight from Rome to Nairobi in November 2015.
“Midway through breakfast over the Mediterranean, Francis emerged from the front cabin. No fanfare, no pretense – just a smiling man in white walking down the aisle. The Pope took time to individually greet the journalists; some handed him gifts sent by people; another made him watch a brief video on her iPad. Others gave him possessions to bless (as I did).
“When he reached my row, I fumbled for the rosaries I had brought from home. ‘For my friends,’ I stammered. His hands, surprisingly strong for a man of 78, cradled them as he murmured a blessing.”
Acres of newspaper space and eons of airtime have been dedicated across the world to eulogising the Argentinian pontiff, who died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, as the epitome of humility, a tireless champion of peace and a voice for the poor and marginalised. What hasn’t quite been highlighted, especially in local coverage, is that Pope Francis reserved some of his deepest reflections to journalism.
In a struggling industry characterised by uncertainty and job losses, repression and threats to journalists, and the chaos of fake news and misinformation, sometimes journalists wonder whether their sacrifices for society are worth it at all. Does journalism make a difference? Is my work truly a force for good in the world? Are we helping our people to live better through the stories we tell? Does holding power accountable matter any more, in the face of increasing tyranny, lies, broken promises and shameless disregard of citizens and their needs?
The answers to some of these troubling questions can be gleaned from the reflections of Pope Francis on journalism, which he called “a noble profession: to convey the truth.”
“There are journalists who are brilliant because they say clearly, ‘I listened, he said this, even though I think the opposite,'” the Pope told a Catholic weekly in 2022. “You should not say, ‘He said this,'” when that was not what was said. Listen, report the message and then criticise. Journalists are doing a tremendous job.” That’s a call to professional integrity.
The Pope wrote in his message for this year’s World Day of Social Communication that: “I dream of a communication that does not peddle illusions or fears but is able to give reasons for hope. I encourage you to discover and make known the many stories of goodness hidden in the folds of the news, imitating those gold prospectors who tirelessly sift the sand in search of a tiny nugget. It is good to seek out such seeds of hope and make them known.”
Everyone worries about excessive media focus on negative stories. If it bleeds it leads, goes the old adage. But will it be right to ignore such stories and instead publish more rosy narratives about our world? Pope Francis didn’t think so.
“Not all stories are good, and yet these too must be told,” he told journalists at the Vatican on January 25. “Evil must be seen in order to be redeemed, but it is necessary to be told well so as not to wear out the fragile threads of cohabitation.”
Speaking last year to some 150 Vaticanisti – the press corps accredited to the Holy See – Pope Francis delivered another gem of deep reflections on journalism.
“In a way, this is what a journalist does, choosing to personally touch the wounds of society and the world,” he said. “It’s a calling that emerges from a young age and leads to understanding, shedding light on, and recounting.”
Driven by insatiable curiosity and the duty to inform, journalists are often the first witnesses of history as it unfolds. And history is not always a pleasant sight to watch.
The Pope’s voice rang out in defence of media freedom as essential to the freedom of all humanity. “The freedom of journalists increases the freedom of us all,” he wrote. He called for the release of journalists detained merely “for wanting to see with their own eyes and for trying to report what they have seen.”
Without “free, responsible and correct information, we risk no longer distinguishing truth from lies; without this, we expose ourselves to growing prejudices and polarisations that destroy the bonds of civil coexistence and prevent fraternity from being rebuilt.”
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, in those stressful moments when your confidence in the value of your work as a journalist wanes, the words of Pope Francis inject a powerful dose of relief that restores a sense of purpose. All good work is a struggle. Journalists are always shining their spotlight into what powerful forces want hidden.
Without this, democracy is a charade. Let’s keep chasing after the truth, without fear, favour or ill-will. We choose to “personally touch the wounds of society and the world.”
See you next week!
