Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - “In the wake of the fortieth-anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, I am happy to recall its Decree on the Means of Social Communication, Inter Mirifica, which in particular recognised the power of the media to influence the whole of human society. The need to harness that power for the benefit of all mankind has prompted me, in this my first message for World Communications Day, to reflect briefly on the idea of the media as a network facilitating communication, communion, and cooperation”. This is the first paragraph of Benedict XVI's first Message for the World Day of Social Communications, which this year is due to be celebrated on May 28, on the theme: "The Media: A Network for Communication, Communion and Cooperation." The Holy Father's Message, made public January 24 Feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists, has been published in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.
.
Although technological progress in the media allow people separated by great distances to enter into instantaneous and direct contact, “Daily we are reminded that immediacy of communication does not necessarily translate into the building of cooperation and communion in society.” the Holy Father says. “Authentic communication demands principled courage and resolve. It requires a determination of those working in the media not to wilt under the weight of so much information nor even to be content with partial or provisional truths”.
Calling on the media to be “responsible - to be the protagonist of truth and promoter of the peace that ensues” the Holy Father underlines “Alongside the provision of a "great round table" for dialogue, certain tendencies within the media engender a kind of monoculture that dims creative genius, deflates the subtlety of complex thought and undervalues the specificity of cultural practices and the particularity of religious belief. These are distortions that occur when the media industry becomes self-serving or solely profit-driven, losing the sense of accountability to the common good.”. Stressing the need to guarantee “Accurate reporting of events, full explanation of matters of public concern, and fair representation of diverse points of view”. It is particularly important today to “uphold and support marriage and family life ... In cooperation with parents, the social communications and entertainment industries can assist in the difficult but sublimely satisfying vocation of bringing up children, through presenting edifying models of human life and love”.
The Pope then reiterates the importance of three steps, identified by Pope John Paul II, “necessary for service of the common good: formation, participation and dialogue”. “Formation in the responsible and critical use of the media helps people to use them intelligently and appropriately
… As a public service, social communication requires a spirit of cooperation and co-responsibility with vigorous accountability of the use of public resources and the performance of roles of public trust (cf. Ethics in Communications, 20), including recourse to regulatory standards and other measures or structures designed to effect this goal. Finally, the promotion of dialogue through the exchange of learning, the expression of solidarity and the espousal of peace presents a great opportunity for the mass media which must be recognised and exercised.”.
Pope Benedict XVI concludes “I am confident that serious efforts to promote these three steps will assist the media to develop soundly as a network of communication, communion and cooperation, helping men, women and children, to become more aware of the dignity of the human person, more responsible, and more open to others especially the neediest and the weakest members of society”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 24/1/2006 righe 43, parole 548)
