Category: Communications

Preserving Human Faces & Voices

1/26/2026

Preserving human faces and voices therefore means preserving this seal, this indelible reflection of God’s love.”
— Pope Leo XIV

In his message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Leo XIV speaks about something we often take for granted: the human face and voice. In a world shaped by screens, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, he reminds us that communication is not just about getting information across. It is about presence, relationship, and being truly seen and heard.

Pope Leo reflects on how God created us for encounter. Our faces and voices are not interchangeable or replaceable. They are how we recognize one another as persons. When technology begins to imitate voices, faces, emotions, and even relationships, the Pope says the real issue is not technology itself, but what it may be doing to our humanity

He does not reject digital tools or artificial intelligence outright. In fact, he acknowledges that they can be helpful and even beneficial. But he cautions against relying on them in ways that replace thinking, creativity, responsibility, and real human connection.

“The question we care about, however, is not what the machine can or will be able to do, but what we can and will be able to do, growing in humanity and knowledge, with the wise use of such powerful tools at our service,” says Pope Leo XIV, Message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications.

When communication becomes rushed, automated, or emotionally reactive, we risk losing the ability to listen well, to reflect deeply, and to encounter the other as someone truly different from ourselves

We need the face and voice to once again express the person. We need to cherish the gift of communication as the deepest truth of humanity, toward which we must also orient every technological innovation." ~Pope Leo XIV

This message feels especially relevant today. Many of us communicate more than ever, yet still feel unheard or disconnected. Pope Leo invites us to pause and ask how we are using these tools, and whether they are helping us grow in relationship or quietly pulling us away from it.

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Questions for reflection

When was the last time I chose convenience over real conversation, and what did that cost the relationship?
Do my daily habits with technology help me listen better, or do they make me quicker to react and slower to understand?
Where might I be invited to show up more fully, with my face, my voice, and my attention, instead of staying behind a screen?

Face and voice are sacred. They were given to us by God, who created us in his image and likeness, calling us to life with the Word he himself spoke to us; a Word that first resounded throughout the centuries in the voices of the prophets, then became flesh in the fullness of time. This Word—this communication that God makes of himself—we have also been able to hear and see directly (cf. 1 Jn 1:1-3), because it made itself known in the voice and Face of Jesus, the Son of God." ~Pope Leo XIV

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Social Media & Lent – “Let your Speech always be Gracious”

2/5/2024

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A Pastoral Letter on the roles of social media in modern life was recently issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). It offers a reflection on both the good and harm which social media impacts individuals and communities. As we prepare for Lent, it may inform our decisions around fasting and of almsgiving related to our use of social media.

Social media serves humanity as a mode of communication. It should exist to promote a fundamental human good: the building of bridges among people by the sharing of information. However, its exponential growth has not necessarily resulted in promoting our human dignity. Even if we do not use social media ourselves, we are impacted by the role it plays in the spread of misinformation, the coarsening of civil discourse, the radical of political systems and the mental health crisis that is especially prevalent among our youth. (Pastoral Letter #3)

This past week, the CEOs of major social media corporations testified at a recent United States Senate hearing where they were confronted with the statements that their companies have not been doing enough to protect children from sexual predators, bullying, while contributing to addictive behaviours, suicide, eating disorders, and distorting the image of beauty, sexuality, and the dignity of the human person made in the image and likeness of God as male and female.

Social media can be used as a platform in service of the vision of proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Communication can enhance global friendship and promote a civilization of justice and peace.

Although we might be creating “digital continents” of people, we must not lose sight of ensuring that our online presence, choices, and conduct give witness to Christian virtues. In doing so we must ensure that this is done with humility, prudence, and in a way that reflects both the truth and love of the Church’s teaching.

In this pastoral letter, the CCCB Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace invites all of us who use social media to make the following seven commitments as a way to witness to core Christian values and help build a healthy online environment that serves the common good. (Pastoral Letter #8)

Check for Accuracy - the commitment to truth lies at the centre of the Christian life. Speaking the truth in love must be the guiding principle in presenting the truth that expresses the Church’s teaching on social and moral issues.
Seek Greater Perspective - reality can be accessed from various dimensions and also disciplines of study, which broadens our understanding. It prevents us from accepting to listen to a narrow set of like-minded voices that simply confirm preconceived ideas or unchallenged biases.
Value Human Dignity – a conversation through social media platforms can often lose sight of the personhood that should be expressed in the posts, tweets, likes and dislikes. “It is easy to forget that behind those thoughts and ideas are real people who just like us have bad days and good days, experience a wide range of emotions, make mistakes, and lead complicated lives.”
Bring Curiosity into the Conversation – Humility in social online conversations begins not by making contrary statements but by first being curious and asking questions. Real dialogue involves being deliberate and calm, having the ability to be silent and listen to others. It will be achieved in conversations that are often offline and face-to-face.
Distinguish between Intention and Impact – the impact of posts that are offensive, hurtful, ignorant and lacking in common decency may obscure the intentions of the person who chooses to mean well but unfortunately cause harm or hurt to others.
Privilege “IRL” Encounters – We can become distracted, fragmented and absorbed in a world which pretends to be real through social media. It is more important to be enriched by “in real life – IRL” encounters and a social environment that is often much slower and human.
Tend to our Time Spent Online – The use of our time and the choice of activities which fill that time impacts not only our physical but spiritual lives. For young people in their formative years, the overuse of social media can lead to addictive behaviours, isolation, sleep deprivation, not being comfortable with silence and contemplation and negatively impacting their normal maturity and integral human development.

These seven commitments concerning the use of social media can be a source of reflection concerning the decisions that we will face in our Lenten journey.

This year in his Lenten message, Pope Francis stated that when our God reveals himself, his message is always one of freedom: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Ex 20:2). The call to freedom is a demanding one. It is not answered straight away; it has to mature as part of the journey for every Christian, which is renewed each year in Lent.

If our celebration of Lent is to be concrete, the first step is to ask the Lord to open our eyes to reality. Lent is a season of conversion, a time of freedom."

"It is time to act, and in Lent, to act also means to pause. .. Slow down and pause! In the presence of God, we become brothers and sisters, more sensitive to one another: in place of threats and enemies, we discover companions and fellow travelers."

"The Church's synodal form, which in these years we are rediscovering and cultivating, suggests that Lent is also a time of communitarian decisions, of decisions, small and large, that are countercultural." (Message of the Holy Father Francis for Lent 2024)

This may be the year we are being invited to make a decision regarding our use of social media. To have moments in Lent set aside to rethink our lifestyles, a time to examine our presence on social media, and through this discernment to make our decisions going forward for the common good or our society, and the dignity of the human person.

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Written by Bishop William T. McGrattan

February 6, 2024

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Preserving Human Faces & Voices

Social Media & Lent – “Let your Speech always be Gracious”

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