The media are God's gift but one that can be manipulated, says the Pope
In an apostolic letter released today, John Paul II praises communication as an instrument of mission but also warns against the risks of cultural globalisation that the media can cause.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) In an apostolic letter on the effects of modern means of social communicationsincluding internet Pope John Paul II, well-known for being a great communicator, said that such instruments are "wonderful things", a "providential opportunity" the Church can and must use without fear in its mission to announce the Gospel to the entire world.
In the letter, titled Rapid Development, the Holy Father warns however that if these means offer the possibility to reach people everywhere, they can also condition how people organise their lives turning them from active subjects into passive recipients, i.e. means or tools as the service of other economic, ideological or ideological interests.
This makes it imperative to ensure pluralism and true participation in media management through appropriate laws and tells us to be aware that the technological gap can have worse effects than poor education or hunger.
The means of communication, the Pope writes, have become so powerful that they have inspire how people, families and societies behave. A culture based on new idioms, techniques and psychological attitudes has emerged independent of its contents so much so that the latter are shaped by the their pervasive and explosive power thus affecting and modifying normal family ties, school structures and processes of socialisation.
The Church has adapted to this new reality ever since the publication of Inter Mirifica, the Second Vatican Council's 1963 decree on the media, to which the Apostolic Letter refers.
Today, the Pope writes, the Church uses all the means of social communications and must use the new ones for both its internal and external communication.
But this communication requires 'transparency', even though the Church has the right, when necessary, to its own discretion.
"Do not be afraid," John Paul II said at the beginning of his pontificate. And so "do not be afraid" he tells those, especially believers, who operate in the communications field. For three times, he tells them "do not be afraid" of the new technologies. They are among the wonderful things, the Inter Mirifica, that God put at our disposal for discovering, using, spreading the truth, even the truth about our dignity and our destiny as his children.
"Do not be afraid of the world's opposition" for as Jesus told us: "In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world." "Do not be afraid for as the Divine Master said: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
For this reason, John Paul II has called on the whole Church to make a pastoral and cultural conversion, starting with the bishops but including everyone. (FP)
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26/03/2005
