The auditorium in Via Giotto 36 of the San Paolo Group was packed with people for the traditional Christmas mass, including employees, relatives, friends and now retired collaborators. A festive tradition that is repeated in which to also valorise those who have been working and dedicating themselves to the publishing group for 25 years. With particular attention, in the homily, to the charism of the congregation, namely communication. And that’s why the appeal of Don Roberto Pontiwho concelebrated the mass with Don Giuseppe Musardomember of the Board of Directors and General Manager e Don Antonio RizzoloCEO, addressed precisely that creeping and omnipresent phenomenon of algorithms that tend to standardize and standardize our society and to which we must “respond” with the novelty of the Gospel.
«Dear brothers and sisters, today’s readings invite us to reflect on the news of the Gospelwhich breaks closed patterns and consolidated habits, even in our age marked by algorithmic communication”.
Don Ponti asked himself what algorithmic communication means. «We live in an era in which much of the information we receive is filtered by algorithms, mathematical tools used to select and personalize what we see on social media, in search engines and digital platforms». But these algorithms are not neutral: «They work to keep us engaged as much as possibleshowing us content that confirms our interests, opinions and desires. This mechanism risks locking us into one information bubble (echo chamber), where we listen only to what confirms our ideas, excluding what might challenge or enrich us. There algorithmic communicationtherefore, tends to guide our choices and our way of thinking, creating a world in which everything seems tailor-made for us, but which in reality can isolate us and limit our vision.”
The San Paolo auditorium
This is why the Promise that breaks boundaries becomes central: it challenges our modern attitude, influenced by algorithms, which often leads us to see only what we want to see, remaining closed in our beliefs. The word of God, however, invites us to look beyond, to break the closed logic that isolates us. It does not allow itself to be caged by our expectations, but brings a greater and more universal truth.” «Often, influenced by algorithms, we listen only to what confirms our ideas, ignoring what is different or challenging. But the Gospel invites us to listen that transforms: listening to the word of God and others, even when they challenge us or question us».
A Kingdom, that of God, towards which we all strive which «is not built on self-referentiality, but on encounters with others, on service to the poor, on openness to novelty. On the contrary, the logic of algorithms risks building “our kingdom” based on our opinions and preferences. The Kingdom of God, however, is a kingdom that expands, breaking down every barrier. It is an invitation to come out of ourselves and seek that justice and peace that comes from the encounter with the truth of Christ.”
In conclusion, a reference to the Jubilee 2025 which is about to begin could not be missing: «an extraordinary opportunity to rediscover the heart of our faith: Christ, face of the merciful Father. This Holy Year, with the theme Pilgrims of hopeinvites us to walk together towards a more open, synodal and missionary Church. In the context of this preparation, the charism of Don Giacomo Alberionefounder of the Pauline Family, offers us a precious light. Alberione taught us to live the Gospel as a communicative novelty: not a static message, but one A word that makes its way into the languages of our timefrom printed pages to digital media.”
This is why all of us, children of the Pauline charism, are called «to bring Christ Way, Truth and Life at the heart of contemporary communication, including algorithmic communication. This means:
- Getting out of our “bubbles” to reach every person with the language of hope.
- Bearing witness to a truth that does not isolate but unitestransforming every technological tool into a means of evangelizing.
- Living the Pauline mission as a service to universal communionjust as Alberione dreamed: a Church that speaks to the whole world, but that listens with humility and love.
The Jubilee reminds us that we are all pilgrims, called to emerge from our closures, even spiritual ones, to meet the ever-living novelty of Christ. Like Don Alberione, let us make our life and our apostolate a bridge that unites, a voice that invites, a sign that indicates the path towards the Kingdom of justice and peace.”
