Shhh: Pope Urges Silence To Communicate Better

Published January 24, 2012 11:09AM (EST)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI is asking everyone to quiet down.

In his annual communications message released Tuesday, Benedict extolled the sounds of silence.

He said silence makes people better listeners and better communicators, because they have more time to think about what they're saying. And he says that in a world inundated by Tweets and 24-hour news coverage, that precious time to think gives words greater value.

Benedict has in recent years used his annual social communications message to comment on social media, urging priests to blog and Catholics who evangelize on Facebook and other social networks to be respectful.

This year, his attention turned to the need to tune out the information overload to allow time for reflection.


By Salon Staff

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