In newly released video, pope urges young people to learn to listen

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a video message recorded in mid-January but released only after he died, Pope Francis urged young people to learn to really listen to others.

"Dear young people, listening is something very important in life, learning to listen," he said in the video posted to YouTube April 27, the day after his funeral.

"When someone speaks, wait until they finish so you can really understand," the pope said. "Then, if you feel like it, you can say something, but it's important to listen" first.

Pope Francis recorded the video for Luca Drusian, an Italian who runs a program called "Listening Laboratory," to help people of all ages learn the art of listening and to experience being heard.

The pope told the young people that if they looked around, they would notice that "people don't listen. Halfway through an explanation, they will reply, and that does not help peace."

"Listen," he urged them. "Listen a lot."

And, since he was speaking to young people, he added, "Don't forget your grandparents; grandparents teach us a lot."

The pope ended by telling the youngsters, "I pray for you; pray for me," and giving his blessing by making the sign of the cross.

In his message for World Communications Day in 2022, Pope Francis focused on "listening with the ear of the heart."

"The lack of listening, which we experience so often in daily life, is unfortunately also evident in public life, where, instead of listening to each other, we often 'talk past one another,'" he wrote.

Listening, he said, is "the first indispensable ingredient of dialogue and good communication. Communication does not take place if listening has not taken place."