Communication

 This dimension of communication as revelation is joined to communication's anthropological dimension. In human terms, communication means above all 'giving,' making public what is ours and sharing it with others, and at the same time preparing ourselves to receive something from others. It is not a one-way process but a circular, reciprocal, and interactive movement in which the partners involved exchange signs and messages in the hope of reaching a mutual understanding and agreement. This exchange never leaves unchanged those who take part in it: our identity is shaped during communication. Since we are communicative beings, no aspect of human behavior is exempt from this law! "With or without action, words or silence always have a communicative character" (Paul Watzlawick).It is clear that this is true not only for individuals, but also for all human groups, and therefore for the church. One of the ways we can evaluate the church's faithfulness to the Gospel is by looking at the quality of its relationships: the relationships that exist within the church, the relationships one Christian denomination establishes with another, the way the church approaches those who do not believe in God and those who belong to other religious traditions, the way it defines its presence in the world, its relationships with secular institutions, etc.