VATICAN CITY, OCT. 29, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Interreligious dialogue and friendship with believers and nonbelievers will top the priorities for the new editor of the Vatican's newspaper.
Giovanni Maria Vian said this on the front page of Sunday's L'Osservatore Romano, in a programmatic article from the editor titled "Tradition and History." A letter from Benedict XVI to Vian also appeared on the same page.
The Holy Father's letter praised the new director's "profound cultural formation as a historian of Christianity" and his "knowledge of the history of the modern papacy."
Since 1861, Benedict XVI noted, L'Osservatore Romano "has made known the teachings of the Roman Pontiffs and the contributions of their closest collaborators concerning the crucial problems humanity encounters on its journey."
The Pope recalled some of the milestones in L'Osservatore's history, mentioning "the decision to remain impartial, which characterized the information given by the Vatican daily during the First World War," and the fact that during the Second World War, L'Osservatore saw its prestige and circulation grow "thanks also to the opportunity the newspaper had to draw from sources of information which, at the time, only the independence of the Vatican could guarantee."
The Holy Father also praised the increased number of language editions, giving the paper an international circulation and "a world dimension that [...] is extremely important in truly expressing the reality of the universal Church and the communion of all the local Churches [...] in a context of sincere friendship toward the women and men of our time."
The newspaper's fundamental task, the Pontiff concluded, "obviously remains that of favoring, in the cultures of our time, a trusting and at the same time profoundly reasonable openness to the transcendent, upon which, in the final instance, rests respect for the dignity and the authentic freedom of each human being."
A program
Vian's article indicated his hopes that the newspaper will "spread the teaching and preaching of the Bishop of Rome in two ways: conserving its special nature of documentation, and developing newsworthy information."
He expressed his plans that the paper will become a voice for the organizations that represent the Holy See, both in and out of Rome.
The daily, Vian affirmed, will give ample space to the international view, in particular, to the dialogue of faith and reason, to current events of the Catholic Church, Christian confessions, Judaism, Islam and other religions.
“Following the example of Benedict XVI and spreading his teachings,” the editor said, "this newspaper wants to direct itself in friendship with all, believers and nonbelievers."
ZE07102907 - 2007-10-29
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-20869?l=english
New L'Osservatore Editor Outlines Priorities
Benedict XVI Praises Vian's Preparation for Post
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