NICE, France, JUNE 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic Church has been in advertising for 2,000 years, says Archbishop John Foley. It is called evangelization.
Archbishop Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and a self-proclaimed "chocoholic," talked with executives of the Nestle Corporation about advertising on June 22 in France.
"The presentation of the good news of Jesus Christ could benefit from the creativity and skill of the advertising community," explained the archbishop. "Jesus himself did it well, with his parables, but we who follow him have often been guilty of the fault that many consider the greatest sin of all in the modern world -- we are often dull."
Three principles
Archbishop Foley confessed that he loves advertising and the power it has to shape people's decisions. He said advertising must always be mindful of three basic principles.
"The first principle is: 'Being is better than having,'" said the archbishop. "Our essential God-given human dignity is not based upon the possessions we have."
Advertisers, he explained, should "emphasize quality, emphasize efficiency, emphasize even better grooming and cleanliness and good appearance, but please do not suggest that a possession is going to make one person better than another person."
"A second principle is: 'Each person must be treated with respect,'" the archbishop said, underlining the importance of treating people with dignity, and not as objects.
"It frankly surprises me that as women rightly fight for equality of treatment in politics and in business, they are still so often exploited in the media in general and in advertising in particular as objects, as sex symbols," explained the 71-year-old prelate. "Such exploitation has now apparently been extended to men as well."
A third principle outlined by Archbishop Foley is recognizing the common good, particularly in the area of political campaigning.
"It is to be hoped that in political life, office holders and candidates of integrity will enlist advertising agencies of integrity to present their views in a sound and attractive manner, thus contributing to an intelligent dialogue in society," he remarked.
Your power
"As you know," Archbishop Foley continued, "advertising profoundly affects the values and the morals in society, and not just people's buying habits. I hope you realize your own power, and that you continue to use it responsibly.
"But whatever product or service you advertise and no matter how you do it, I would hope you would keep in mind our ultimate purpose in life and make of all of your advertising, messages that are true, worthy of the dignity of the human person and helpful to the common good."
The Vatican official concluded: "The recently beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta, while she didn't use advertising, became an advertiser's dream. She motivated us all to be better and never to forget the poorest and apparently least members of society.
"She made of every day and of every action what I would hope we would wish to do with our creativity, no matter what product or service we are presenting: Realize the dignity and impact of our work -- and make something beautiful for God."
