ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV’s communications style is about “discovering God in ourselves and one another,” reflecting the pope’s deeply held Augustinian charism, according to Catholic communications experts.
A June 18 panel discussion on “Communicating the Vision of Pope Leo XIV: Truth, Technology and Evangelization” took place as part of the 2026 Catholic Media Conference, held June 16-19 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The conference is organized by the Chicago-based Catholic Media Association, which fosters development and networking among Catholic media professionals throughout North America as well as abroad.
Panelists included Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication; Carol Glatz, editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service in Rome; and Augustinian Father Arthur Purcaro, assistant vice president for mission and ministry at Villanova University, and a longtime friend of the pope.
Moderating the discussion was Kerry Weber, executive editor at America Media and president of the Catholic Media Association.
Sharing and receiving
Glatz said that for Pope Leo, “Communication is about communion, a ‘being with'” that is “an ontological necessity toward a fuller understanding of the truth.”
That truth is not one accessible “without others,” but instead requires “dialogue together,” she added.
From Pope Leo’s perspective, said Glatz, “It’s also about what are we birthing? Who are we becoming with our discourse, with our tools? Who are we helping others become with what we share, and what we receive?”
Father Purcaro said Pope Leo — the former Robert Prevost — had shared with him memories of sitting at the dinner table with his two brothers, as his mother warned, “You’ve got to get along if you want to eat.”
Noting that there’s “very little from Leo that doesn’t cite (St.) Augustine,” Father Purcaro said that his order’s patron saint strove to “build community.”
He described the pope’s vision of communication grounded in a sense of “conversation, and the importance of searching together” to understand the truth.
Building community is “a test, a process,” as well as “a moving picture,” said Father Purcaro.
“It’s a search together around that family dinner table for the truth,” he said.
‘Communion is in our DNA’
Weber affirmed that image, saying that “unity leads to nourishment.”
Father Purcaro added such a perspective is “tough for us to understand in our very polarized” culture.
But “communion is in our DNA,” he stressed.
Pope Leo views communications as a means of “discovering God in ourselves and one another,” he said.
Ruffini stressed that “what we are seeing in Pope Leo and how (he) is communicating to the world is something that comes from the inner soul of what he was before he was pope … something that is spiritual, something that is true.”
“He is not performing,” said Ruffini.
He observed that while many in society, including leaders, opt to “mask” themselves out of fear when communicating, Pope Leo “is not communicating himself, but something transcendent” — namely, Jesus.
“We can learn from that,” Ruffini said.
Free, authentic communication
Weber described the pope’s communication style as “very free and authentic.”
Saying he had “known Bob (Pope Leo) for over 40 years,” Father Purcaro explained that Pope Leo’s calm, centered presence, and his practice of attentively listening to others, were forged amid his Augustinian ministry throughout the world, particularly in Peru.
Father Purcaro said those years of “building community” and enjoying “the privilege of being able to help people recognize what is good” also coincided with numerous challenges.
Among them was Peru’s 1980-1992 conflict with the Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), which saw some 70,000 killed. The Augustinians “refused to leave” those they served in Peru, said Father Purcaro, who, like the future pope, spent several years on mission in South America.
‘This is the right time for Pope Leo’
Ruffini, who plans to retire from his role as prefect and in November will be succeeded by Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, also highlighted Pope Leo’s concern for the common good, which has been imperiled in an increasingly fractured world.
Pope Leo, who “learned and continues to live as an Augustinian,” is now “sharing as pope” the realization that “it’s all a gift, given for everyone” and meant to be shared, said Father Purcaro.
His fellow panelists agreed.
“This is the right time for Pope Leo,” said Ruffini.
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
