Share Church’s true brand—Jesus—to the world: Vatican official

Witness the church’s true brand, Jesus, to the world, says a Vatican official.

During a recent SIGNIS World executive board meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, shared a reflection on the role of SIGNIS in today’s plural media world.

“SIGNIS is called a network that unites and liberates. A network woven of truth, beauty, faith, and hope. A concrete, visible alternative to the web of confusing chatter where there is no more room for the truth of an encounter, SIGNIS must be at the vanguard of the church at the exit. This means to be missionaries, remembering that our true brand as a church is Jesus; it's our faith,” Ruffini said.

SIGNIS, or the World Catholic Association for Communication, is a global network of Catholic media professionals.

As an International Association of the Faithful, the Vatican recognizes SIGNIS. Its goal is to "help transform cultures in the light of the gospel by promoting human dignity, justice, and reconciliation."

Dr Nataša Govekar, director of the Department of Pastoral Theology in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication and the Dicastery’s representative for SIGNIS, started the day with a reflection about Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with social media.

Later, the board of director members had the chance to discuss the latest developments from each one of the regions and discover how to join efforts to expand their local initiatives on a global scale.

These range from workshops on media training to radio broadcasting, SIGNIS presence in international film juries around the world, and media education activities aimed at young people and women.

The Board of Directors held in-person meetings for the first time since the pandemic. During November 26–28, they discussed how SIGNIS can support and empower the use of communication for peace around the world.