Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Athens (Fides Service - Organising formation seminars for journalists, both Catholics and others, meetings of webmasters responsible for websites of the Bishops' Conferences, encouraging media offices in Eastern European Bishops' Conferences, and increasing the exchange of photos, material and documentation - these are just some of the definite proposals to come out of three days of intense debate and exchange of information among the Spokespeople and Media Officers of 22 member Conferences of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE). Their meeting took place in Athens from 24-27 June at the invitation of the Catholic Archdiocese of Greece.
The network of European collaboration between the Media Offices is getting stronger.
The first theme examined was the Internet. The rapidity of information and the opportunities for exchange make closer collaboration between the portals and the sites of Bishops' Conferences and Catholic websites absolutely necessary. The Internet is opening up new opportunities for the Church to reach out to surfers on the web and offer access to catechesis, information about the life of the Church, services and personal support. However, the fact remains that it is difficult to reconcile the web, often used as a place for instantaneous gratification, with the extra-temporal dimension where "the matters of faith" lie. It also limits enormously forms of communication and personal inter-action. The secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Renato Boccardo, emphasised that the network offers the Church a very useful space for evangelisation, since through it it is possible to reach all cultures and ages at the same time. So this new channel of communication leads the Church to re-examine its own language.
The second focus for reflection: why does evil make more impact than good? The information and communication engine is driven today by economic criteria - today media businesses live not by their product but by their ability to carry publicity. Furthermore, the multiplication of sources of information heightens competition and so the search for audiences and share, achieved through scandals, exaggeration, news blown out of all proportions, gaudy colours, amplification of events - particular 'violent' ones - suffers from the complete violation of any moral laws or deontological criteria, to the detriment of the defenceless, such as minors. How, with respect to its rules, can the system of communication be changed? Don Claudio Giuliodori, Director of the Italian National Social Communications Office, made five proposals: to remind communicators regularly of their responsibilities to and observance of the deontological codes; to recount testimonies and life experiences; to allow the positive face of the Church and society to emerge; to contrast the media's aggressiveness not just by reaction but by proposing initiatives; and to develop personal relationships with workers in the media.
Above all it is the family - the third key theme of the Athens meeting - that must be protected. If on the one hand parents are the first to have responsibility for the education of their children in use of the mass media, too, on the other hand national and European politicians must consider the family as a social and public subject with rights and specific duties, and not just as a group of individuals. In many European nations, the Churches are launching specific projects aimed at safeguarding the family: for example, the Week for Life in Germany in April, Mass Media Awareness projects involving parents in Maltese schools, the Listening 2004 Project in England and Wales, seminars, messages, and so on.
The participants received a cordial welcome from the Orthodox Archbishop of Athens, His Beatitude Christodoulos, which provided the opportunity for an open debate on the European Constitution and the future of the Union. In agreement with the position expressed by John Paul II, the Archbishop confirmed his own deep regret that no reference to Christianity had been made in the Constitution, "as if our civilisation had been born yesterday". In the light of this, the Churches now have the task of preserving Europe's Christian conscience, so that "Christianity, Greek education and Roman legislation are the fundamental bases of European civilisation". The Archbishop also highlighted the significant steps made in dialogue and collaboration with the Catholic Church in recent years.
The meeting with the Catholic Archbishop of Athens, Mgr Nicolaos Foskolos, offered the opportunity to see the Catholic Church in Greece from close-up. It represents 0.5% of the population (97% are of the population is Orthodox), and has been growing in recent years following the immigration of Polish, Albanian, and Filipino communities in particular. Due to the varieties of cultures and the way they are spread out in the Christian communities they offer new pastoral challenges. The Archbishop expressed his hope that the dialogue begun with the Government and the Orthodox Church will lead to a new recognition of the Catholic Church's role and contribution to the nation (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 30/6/2004; Righe 45; Parole 603)
