Metropolitan Borys Gudziak Attends Dicastery for Communication’s Plenary Assembly

Reflecting on the Dicastery’s significance, Metropolitan Borys highlighted its unique role as the largest Vatican dicastery, with over 580 staff members and a reach spanning 53 languages. “It’s impressive that the Catholic network of 1.3 billion people and the people of goodwill who follow the Church are served by this central organism that works globally,” he said. The Dicastery’s responsibilities include managing Vatican Radio, L'Osservatore Romano (published in seven languages), a television studio, Vatican News, the Vatican News Agency, and other key media platforms. According to Metropolitan Borys, this extensive network enables the Church to connect with people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds worldwide.

The plenary assembly functioned as a “board meeting,” with discussions involving members from various fields, including specialists in communications. “The meetings of the Dicastery for Communications for me are extremely interesting because they bring in frontline specialists in and outside the Catholic Church,” remarked Metropolitan Borys. Experts addressed significant technological and ethical challenges in modern communication, with particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI). Professor Divina Frau-Meigs, a UNESCO consultant on AI, provided insights into the potential and risks of AI in media. “It’s getting ten times stronger every year,” noted Metropolitan Borys. “There are serious concerns about how this tool can be misused, as all tools can be, but there are also great opportunities.” Professor Frau-Meigs suggested that the Dicastery could play a vital role as a guarantor and promoter of ethical, conscious communication in the future. Chris Anderson, the owner of TED Talks, was also invited to speak on the power of storytelling and generosity.