Media Can Undervalue Religious Belief, Says Pope

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI hopes that the media don't end up becoming, paradoxically, a means of a lack of communication.

The Pope expressed that idea in his first message for World Communications Day, published today. The event will be observed May 27.

The theme of the message is "The Media: A Network for Communication, Communion and Cooperation."

"Daily we are reminded that immediacy of communication does not necessarily translate into the building of cooperation and communion in society," the Holy Father writes in the 1,000-word document.

The Bishop of Rome points out that "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," he adds.

"Do not our hearts cry out, most especially, when our young people are subjected to debased or false expressions of love which ridicule the God-given dignity of every human person and undermine family interests?" asks the Pontiff.

Family life

In this connection, the papal message becomes an examination of conscience on the way the media address marital and family life, which is "of particular importance, precisely because it pertains to the foundation of every culture and society," Benedict XVI continues.

In order to promote a constructive presence and positive perception of the media in society, the Holy Father presents three proposals: "formation, participation and dialogue."

Thus, he reflects further on Pope John Paul II's last apostolic letter, "The Rapid Development," which focused on the media.

First, Benedict XVI states: "Formation in the responsible and critical use of the media helps people to use them intelligently and appropriately."

Then he writes: "Participation in the mass media arises from their nature as a good destined for all people. 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."

Dialogue

Finally, the Holy Father says that "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 recognized and exercised. In this way they become influential and appreciated resources for building the civilization of love for which all peoples yearn."

World Communications Day was the only such event instituted at the suggestion of the Second Vatican Council.

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