Pope Francis and the Catholic Church have a great relationship. The relationship is unlike any other between the media and a pope. The media portrays Pope Francis as very humble and relatable to the common society. The media has represented these actions by releasing photos in the past of the pope paying his own hotel bill, carrying his own plain looking briefcase and even riding around in a modest family style car. Our guest lecturer Carlo Nardella mentioned that the pope has an informal relationship with the media (Nardella, 2019). Pope Francis is known for his informal in flight air conferences. These air conferences are special because questions for interviews are usually prepared and presented to the pope ahead of time, unlike these questions that are on the spot.
With the recent disaster in Paris, France to the Notre Dame Cathedral, many people of the Catholic religion have been looking toward the pope to see how he responds to the devastating fire. The day after the burning of Notre Dame, the pope made a statement sending regards to those who reside in Paris and those who need guidance amongst disaster. Our guest lecturer mentioned that the pope is very friendly to people he meets, allowing many hugs and addressing them as “brothers and sisters” (Nardella, 2019). Pope Francis shows this same comfort in his speech addressing the burning of Notre Dame by saying, “...I join you in your sorrow...French people” (Watkins, 2019). By stating this, the pope is putting himself on the same level of the common people and recognizing that he is placing an equality on himself with the French people. The article very similarly describes the pope in the same light as guest lecturer, Carlo Nardella.
Nardella, C. (2019, April 16). On Pope Francis' communicative strategy [PowerPoint slides].
Watkins, D. (2019, April 16). Notre Dame fire: Pope joins Paris in sorrow, Vatican offers technical expertise. Retrieved from https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019- 04/pope-francis-message-notre-dame-cathedral.html