The Pope: social bulimia, our society is sick

"We live in a society that is falling ill due to a 'bulimia' of social media connections: we are hyper-connected, bombarded by images, sometimes even false or distorted ones. We are overwhelmed by multiple messages that arouse in us a storm of contradictory emotions'. This was said by the Pope at the general audience, adding: "We need to ask the Lord to heal our way of communicating, not only to be more effective, but also to avoid hurting others with our words". We must "learn to communicate honestly and prudently. Let us pray for all those who have been hurt by the words of others".

The Pope emphasised that in this age of social media, "today, many people are isolated in their despair and seem to have lost the ability to communicate, perhaps because they have often felt hurt and misunderstood in their interactions with others". "We need moments of intimacy with Jesus," he said, "He allows us to look beyond our problems and put our listening and communication skills at the service of others."

Speaking about the international situation, characterised by multiple hotbeds of crisis, Pope Leo XIV launched a clear message: "Today more than ever it is indispensable to preserve the spirit of Helsinki, to persevere in dialogue, to strengthen cooperation and to make diplomacy the privileged way to prevent and resolve conflicts". "1 August," Pope Leo recalled at the end of the general audience, "will mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act. Animated by the desire to guarantee security in the context of the Cold War, 35 countries inaugurated a new geopolitical season by favouring a rapprochement between East and West. That event," the Pontiff emphasised, "also marked a renewed interest in human rights with particular attention to religious freedom, considered as one of the foundations of the then nascent architecture of cooperation from Vancouver to Vladivostok. The active participation of the Holy See at the Helisinki Conference, represented by Archbishop Agostino Casaroli, contributed to fostering political and moral commitment to peace," Leo XIV concluded.