Church communication highlights 2018

Abstract Religious matters are much more present in standard media coverage than many people think. This paper discusses eight of the most relevant issues and events about the Catholic Church that made news headlines in 2018. The highlights, listed in chronological order, are: Pope Francis’ January trip to Chile and Peru; the fifth anniversary in March of the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pope; the release of Wim Wenders’ documentary film Pope Francis - A Man of His Word; Pope Francis’ August trip to the World Meeting of Families in Dublin, Ireland; the global clergy sexual abuse crisis and the Viganò affair; the agreement between the Holy See and China on appointment of bishops in September; the canonization of Archbishop Romero and Pope Paul VI in Rome in October; and the Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment also in October. The selection is inevitably subjective, but the author has chosen these topics mainly because they received substantial coverage from international mainstream media