The result of a joint session involving the highest ranks from Salesian and FMA Formation, Social Communication and the Roman university, the Salesian Communication Days highlighted immediately, via a round table, the pervasiveness of the fake news phenomenon.
After a series of parallel sessions that touched upon various points of modern communications, on the evening of Friday 27th there was a moment of fraternity animated by the various local Salesian and FMA groups present, concluded by the message of the Salesian "Goodnight" of the Rector Major's Vicar, Fr Francesco Cereda: "Communication is always a relationship. Whether it is in person or digital, always think and prioritize to building authentic relationships" was the proposed reflection.
Saturday 28 began with the Mass presided by Fr Mauro Mantovani, UPS Rector, followed by a variety of media analysis workshops and group work sessions. Among the conclusions drawn: discernment and listening were identified as the proper tools to combat the spread of fake news; communication was conceived as an essential way to live communion, according to God's plan for humanity, and as a place to express one's responsibility in the search for truth; hence, to unravel or shed light on misinformation, the importance of reading and evaluating the communicative context was underlined, and one needed to verify sources, differentiate between authoritative and non-authoritative sources, give space to more in-depth reports and to interpersonal debate ...
Finally, it was agreed that the truth springs from free relations between people and in listening to each other.
In the concluding message, Fr Filiberto González Plasencia, Councilor General for Social Communication, encouraged young Salesians and FMA in formation to evaluate with joy and gratitude the beauty of their vocation wherein to find perpetual renewal, both human and spiritual.
