Pope Francis has told members and staff of the Dicastery for Communication that the Vatican and the church need their expertise to share the Gospel, but he also asked them to find creative ways to do it while cutting their expenses.

"We will need to implement a bit more discipline on money because you have to try to save more and look for other funding because the Holy See can't continue to help you like it does today," the Pope told the department handling the Vatican's TV and radio stations, newspaper and media, Ansa News reported on Oct. 31.

"I know it's bad news" but it's also "beautiful news because it moves everybody's creativity", said the pontiff who earlier this month also ordered pay cuts for cardinals as the Vatican battles to balance its books.

The Pope held a meeting with the department that oversees the Vatican's newspaper, TV operations, and radio and internet broadcasts, but he did not offer specifics, as told staff members to "exercise a bit more discipline with money," Reuters news agency reported.

"You need to find ways to save more and seek other funds, as the Holy See cannot continue to support you as it does now," Francis said, adding to a prepared speech.

Cathnews.com reports that the pontiff listed a variety of "dreams" for how the Vatican's vast communications apparatus would inform people, shine a spotlight on truth, and share stories of faith.

The Vatican Secretariat for the Economy has not published Vatican budget figures since 2022.

At that time, Cathnews said the dicastery and its various media outlets – the multilingual Vatican News website, Vatican Radio in Italian, L'Osservatore Romano newspapers in various languages, the Vatican press office, the Vatican's book publishing arm and the Vatican video production center – cost 40 million euro ($43.5 millio) in 2021.

The expenditures accounted for 25 percent of the Vatican budget.

While urging the Vatican department to cut expenses and find new revenue sources, the Pope thanked Vatican News for increasing to over 50 the number of languages in which it offers content on its website; the latest additions were Lingala, Mongolian, and Kannada.

"I dream of a communication that succeeds in connecting people and cultures," Francis said.

"I dream of a communication capable of telling and raising the profile of stories and testimonies from every corner of the world, circulating them and offering them to everyone," which he said the multilingual website makes possible.

Communicators, especially Catholic communicators, should not try to spread their own ideas, the Pope said, "but to recount reality with honesty and passion," going "beyond slogans" and helping people to see, hear and respond to the needs of the poor, migrants and victims of war, Cathnews said.