Training journalists to be peacemakers: EWTN Summer Academy concludes in Rome
EWTN hosted its fifth annual Summer Academy in Rome from June 22 to July 1, training 43 young journalists from 26 countries in Catholic journalism, video editing, and storytelling. The program took place at the Centro Internazionale di Animazione Missionaria on the campus of the Pontifical Urban University, offering participants a view of St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Leo XIV emphasized the role of journalists as peacemakers, urging them to promote truth amid polarization, war, and fake news, a theme echoed by Academy director Anthony Johnson. Participants, including international figures such as Jonél Roos and George Cuesta, received instruction from Vatican journalists, clergy, and media professionals, aiming to equip them to convey truth and advance the Church’s evangelization mission.
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The EWTN Summer Academy 2026 brought together 43 young Catholic journalists from 26 nations for a nine‑day intensive program in Rome, teaching them skills in reporting, video editing and storytelling to support the Church’s evangelizing mission and to act as “peacemakers” in a polarized world. 1
The fifth annual EWTN Summer Academy was hosted by the Vatican Bureau at the Centro Internazionale di Animazione Missionaria on the Pontifical Urban University campus. Participants lived and worked in small, multicultural groups, completing a final multimedia project that reflects Catholic values. 2
Since his election in 2025, Pope Leo XIV has urged media professionals to promote peace, citing the Beatitude “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Mt 5:9). In a 2025 speech to journalists, he emphasized that truthful reporting can counter fake news and division. citeturn0file1L‑
The academy’s curriculum combined practical workshops—covering news gathering, video production, and digital storytelling—with formation on Catholic doctrine and the Church’s mission. Instructors included Vatican journalists, clergy, producers and art historians. 2
Program director Anthony Johnson linked the academy’s mission to Pope Leo XIV’s exhortation, stating that journalists must first be peacemakers because “the truth is what is ultimately going to set us free.” He also referenced Mother Angelica’s vision for EWTN as a platform for proclaiming Jesus Christ. 2
Training in Rome, the heart of the Catholic Church, allowed participants to study amid historic basilicas and artworks, reinforcing the idea that beauty serves as a powerful evangelizing tool. 1
The academy concluded on 1 July 2026, leaving participants equipped with technical expertise, a deeper appreciation of Catholic heritage, and a commitment to use media as a force for peace and truth. 2*
"How should Catholic journalism promote peacemaking amid global polarization?"
Catholic journalism should promote peacemaking by treating peace as a moral duty rooted in Christ, and by practicing truthful, responsible communication that serves dialogue, the common good, and the dignity of every person—especially amid today’s global polarization.
Catholic teaching presents peace not as a neutral absence of conflict, but as something deeper and more demanding: “Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ”—the “Prince of Peace.”
That peace is tied to a specific Christian vocation: peacemaking. The Beatitudes place peacemakers among those called “sons of God.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
So Catholic journalism, if it is to be faithful, cannot treat peacemaking as optional or sentimental. It must see peacemaking as a participation in Christ’s reconciling work and as a true expression of love.
The Church’s social doctrine clarifies that peace is:
Peace is described as:
“Peace is also the fruit of love.”
This matters for journalism: in polarizing times, it is easy to speak as if conflict is just “culture war,” “identity,” or “rival narratives.” Catholic peacemaking requires journalists to examine how injustice, denial of human rights, and disregard for the common good generate hostility—and to report responsibly on those roots.
Pope Francis states that in a globalized world the media can help people feel closer, creating unity and inspiring solidarity—because communication has immense possibilities for encounter and truth-seeking.
But he also warns that communication can become an obstacle to dialogue when it turns into a “noisy potpourri” of facts and opinions that encourages stubborn clinging to one’s own stance and makes it easier to insult opponents rather than seek deeper agreement.
He further notes how verbal violence spreads through digital networks, including within religious media—where defamation and slander can become commonplace and ethical standards abandoned.
Catholic journalism must therefore operate with a clear goal: turning communication into a path toward encounter and communion, not a mechanism for escalating hostility.
Pope Francis gives unusually direct criteria for what a “journalism of peace” means. He explicitly rejects a “saccharine” approach that ignores real problems; instead, it is grounded in truth and opposed to falsehoods, slogans, and sensationalism.
“By that, I do not mean the saccharine kind of journalism that refuses to acknowledge the existence of serious problems… I mean a journalism that is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines.”
From that teaching, Catholic peacemaking journalism should practice at least five interlocking commitments:
The journalist’s mission is not chiefly speed or audience impact, but persons, accuracy of sources, and trust—because informing others means shaping them and preparing the conditions for communion and peace.
Pope Francis calls this a “mission” whose language and framing can either build bridges or increase divisions.
“Ensuring the accuracy of sources and protecting communication are real means of promoting goodness, generating trust, and opening the way to communion and peace.”
Catholic communication should aim at respectful dialogue that allows the truth to emerge and prevents manipulation that tilts public opinion unfairly.
Pope Francis describes how discussion is often manipulated by powerful interests, and how it “sooner or later” turns against the interests it pretends to serve.
A journalism of peace must treat language as morally consequential. Pope Francis points out how online networks can carry believers into “networks of verbal violence,” including defamation and slander.
Pope Leo XIV connects peacemaking to the choice of words that can wound—affirming that peace is built in the heart and from the heart, including by eliminating pride and choosing words carefully.
Pope Francis frames information as forming persons: journalism should be “a journalism created by people for people,” at the service of all—especially those with no voice—and less concentrated on breaking news than on underlying causes of conflict.
A journalism of peace should explore the underlying causes of conflicts and “set in place virtuous processes” toward resolution, instead of amplifying shouting-matches and verbal violence.
Catholic communication principles also emphasize the right to know and to inform, with special concern in situations where truth is obstructed. Communio et Progressio teaches that those who report news have a difficult and responsible role, often facing obstacles including those who aim to conceal the truth—and it condemns violence against newsmen because it violates the right to know.
This links peacemaking to the credibility and freedom of information: when journalism becomes propaganda, polarization intensifies; when it protects truth-seeking, it can rebuild social bonds.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine describes the Church, in Christ, as a “sacrament” (a sign and instrument) of peace.
It adds that promoting true peace expresses Christian faith in God’s love for every human being and includes promoting unity and cooperation—even where religious differences exist.
While this does not mean every outlet “speaks as the Church,” it establishes the standard Catholic journalism should measure itself against: communication that fosters unity, cooperation, and a wider moral vision than partisan conflict.
Catholic journalism should promote peacemaking by reporting with truthful accuracy, resisting sensationalism and slogans, using language that avoids verbal violence, and focusing on the causes of conflict, human dignity, and the common good—because peace is the fruit of justice and love, and communication can either rebuild communion or deepen polarization.