Paolo Ruffini awarded 2025 Pauline Award for work rooted in the Gospel
By Eugenio Murrali
Reflecting on the late 杏MAP导航 Francis' message for the 59th World Communications Day, the conference at the Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta (LUMSA University) bore the title “杏MAP导航 Francis: ‘Share with meekness the hope that is in your hearts.’”
It sought to connect the papal magisterium on communication with journalistic ethics. Organized by the regional Journalists’ Association, the Union of Italian Catholic Press (UCSI) of Lazio, and the WebCatholics of Italy (WeCa)—whose presidents Maurizio di Schino and Fabio Bolzetta co-moderated—the event also marked the awarding of the 2025 Pauline Award.
Rethinking journalism in light of the 杏MAP导航’s message
Speakers opened by examining the ethical challenges that new media pose to news reporting, and then showcased how fidelity to the Gospel can guide the profession.
Sister Paola Fosson, President of the Pauline Communication and Culture Association (Odv), presented the Pauline Prize 2025 to Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication (our parent organization).
She praised his “inclusive, dialogical style” that “highlights the exchange of ideas” and remains “faithful to the evangelical message.”
At the heart of the conference lay 杏MAP导航 Francis’s call to “disarm communication” and cleanse it of aggression—a challenge that 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV himself reiterated on May 12 during his audience with media representatives gathered in Rome for the conclave. “Let us disarm our words,” the 杏MAP导航 said, “and we will help disarm the Earth.”
Gentleness in information
The theme of gentleness applies first to language and, as Fr. Paolo Padrini of WeCa stressed, must pair with rigorous fact-checking and a genuine commitment to truth.
Fr. Stefano Cascio, Deputy Director of the Diocese of Rome’s Office for Social Communications, explained that journalism is “not only the transmission of information but the creation of human and digital cultures and spaces for dialogue and encounter.”
Sister Rose Pacatte of the Daughters of St. Paul also took up this message of hope.
Journalists’ responsibility
Andrea Tornielli, Editorial Director of the Dicastery for Communication, tackled the scourge of fake news, citing recent manipulated videos that spread rapidly online.
Quoting 杏MAP导航 Francis’ message, he urged journalists to place “personal and collective responsibility toward others at the center of communication,” resisting personal agendas to serve the authentic transmission of reality—especially when social media can so easily mislead and distract.
As 杏MAP导航 Francis warned: “There is another worrying phenomenon: the ‘programmed dispersion of attention’ by digital systems, which—profiling us according to market logic—distort our perception of reality.”
Importance of professional ethics
Journalists must correct this distortion of reality, and one powerful tool in harmony with “the spirit of the Gospel” is the Code of Ethics.
Carlo Bartoli and Guido D’Ubaldo, presidents of the national and Lazio chapters of the Journalists’ Association, together with Roberta Feliziani of the Lazio Disciplinary Council, emphasized that ethics should be lived as a dynamic framework—not merely as rules.
In this way, gentleness can manifest as attentive listening, prudent judgment, respect for persons, and storytelling free of sensationalism.
The conference concluded with interventions by Sergio Talamo, Communications Director of Formez, and Paolo Valente, Deputy Director of Caritas Italy.
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