Emergency Communication and the Teachings of Pope Francis

Papa Francesco e le emergenze: un approccio integrato alla comunicazione e gestione delle crisi - Immagine del Papa Francesco, di schiena, mentre si avvicina allo scranno in occasione della Pasqua in periodo Covid.

In situations of emergency, whether local or global, the Vatican demonstrates a strong capacity for response—particularly in the realm of communication. In these complex contexts, well-organized resources and targeted communication strategies come to the fore. This is no surprise: for the Church, communicating in times of crisis is also a way of carrying forward its evangelizing mission.

Pope Francis' magisterium—at times a true outsider compared to expectations, and at other times a visionary for the Church's future—has introduced new, valuable, and innovative perspectives that deserve in-depth analysis. Beyond conventional interpretations of his encyclicals and official documents, there is a consistent thread in his approach to crises that can offer practical tools for professionals in the field. This article explores five key dimensions of the Pontiff's thinking on emergencies, with the aim of outlining an operational framework useful for communication before, during, and after a crisis.

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What are the factors that an emergency communicator must consider?

An emergency is an exceptional event, which requires timely responses since it puts a system in crisis. The involvement of the individual, a community, a territory, together with gravity, requires that evolution be carefully monitored to limit the negative effects. So what are the factors that an emergency communicator must consider?

Since these are processes with clear characteristics that determine the various relative actions, including the transmission of information flows, effective emergency communication must take into account:

  • the characteristics of the target group, starting by identifying the categories of stakeholders
  • the source of the information, to determine the authoritativeness of what is transmitted
  • the content and form of communication , since everything contributes to the reduction of further risks and can encourage virtuous behaviour for risk containment
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Communication styles of media figures during the Covid-19 emergency

"One cannot not communicate" states the first communication axiom of the Palo Alto School (California), of which Paul Watzlawick was one of the greatest exponents. We wanted to put this theory to the test by analysing a number of media figures during the Covid-19 emergency. In fact, on the one hand, you’ll find institutional contexts as sources, where speeches are written, viewpoints are measured and there is plenty of time to choose the right outfit, but, on the other, we have attempted to define the communication styles that have emerged in five of the most prominent media figures during this emergency, making use of a topic in psychology called "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" (NLP) .

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