Communication, communion,
co-operation

The Pope of Dialogue gives a refreshing, supportive and encouraging message to those who work within, and use, the media – all of us.

by Peter Thomas

Pope Benedict has chosen four points in his message for the 40th World Communication’s Day celebrated by the Church each year at this time, and in Australia, this Sunday, May 21.

The first, and the overriding point, ‘the media as a network facilitating communication, communion and cooperation’ is particularly apt in 2006, as never before has media been so widespread, diverse and accessible. The recent Beaconsfield miner’s incarceration captured the attention of Australian media and international media from Moscow to Macau. Multiple language Internet news sites followed the rescue mission in Hong Kong with as much attention as Kochie and Mel on Seven’s “Sunrise” show. Such is the ubiquitous nature of media today!  In many respects the Pope’s desire that the media facilitate communication, communion and cooperation, were demonstrated during those 15 days. As a viewer, like millions of others, my experience was vicarious, but nevertheless real and shared and therefore legitimate.

Pope Benedict’s second point that ‘technological advances in media have in certain respects conquered time and space’ has a distinct ring of truth. When ABC-TV broadcasts the Christmas Mass from St Peter’s in Rome and the Pope lifts his hand in benediction at the conclusion of Mass to give me his blessing, depending on where I am in Australia, it’s likely I will receive a time-delayed broadcast. It begs the question: What is real time? Frequent international flyers understand only too well the sensation of skipping, jumping and reversing time. Satellites and time-delay technologies are fundamental tools of modern television as broadcasts from Eastern Australia in the summer are time-delayed by three hours before they appear on Perth screens.

When Pope John Paul died, a nun from the equator-hugging Pacific island nation of Kiribati, emailed me to advise that TV had begun on their island atoll the day after the Pope died. The people’s first images were of the grieving millions in Rome with the extraordinary sight of world leaders who had come to Rome for the Pope’s funeral.  Internet and satellite TV had preceded free-to-air TV on Kiribati, but now in one of the remotest nations on earth, the full impact of world communication is a reality.

Even on Kiribati things will not stand still as the media landscape evolves into something distinctly different from its recent past. Eventually, TV will move on-line in earnest, with more and more of us watching the Net. New compression technologies add to the options available by enabling the more efficient use of spectrum and increasing the number of program channels. Pope Benedict’s time and space reference would have been thought hardly imaginable 25 years ago, yet in 2006 we wonder where these technological gifts of God will advance in years to come.

Pope Benedict’s third point is a ‘call for today’s media to be responsible’. It’s a perennial but important point as each day we witness irresponsibility on our screens, in print and through radio broadcasts. Archbishop John Foley, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, has offered us these guidelines. First principle, never lie. Truth is not only morally right; it is politically correct and establishes an atmosphere of trust. Truth will always be revealed: failure to tell thetruth is a scandal, a betrayal of trust and a destroyer of credibility. (Crux of the News – Newsletter Apr. 2001.) Although the Archbishop was talking to Catholic journalists about communicating the Church to the world his advice is equally true for anyone in the media seeking to act with integrity.

Pope Benedict’s fourth point calls for ‘formation in the responsible and critical use of the media’, a clear call for media literacy initiatives, media education and for parents to exercise discretion and guidance in what their children watch on TV. In Australia we are fortunate that media education in schools is advanced in comparison with many other countries. We have an outstanding record of assisting students to investigate and analyse their own and others’ experiences of media. Students are taught that the media not only comment on culture and values but also reflect the society which creates them. That said, it is abundantly clear that many people are troubled by the influence of media, especially the Internet and television, in promoting values that run counter to their own beliefs. Education in media literacy, so that people are not left powerless in the wake of divergent values, is a vital part of both the formal and informal education of our children.

Pope Benedict concludes his letter with some very positive messages encouraging dialogue, the espousal of peace and as a final sentence, in reference to St Paul, Eph 2:14, “Christ is our peace. In Him we are one” he asks that together “we break down the dividing walls of hostility and build up the communion of love according to the designs of the Creator made known through his Son!”   I find this underpinning of dialogue in Pope Benedict’s Message for World Communications Day refreshing, supportive and encouraging. The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Ambrose De Paoli, speaking to the Australian bishops at the beginning of their May plenary, acknowledged an emerging style of Benedict XVI as a ‘Pope of dialogue’. As far as the media is concerned this can only be a good thing!

Peter Thomas, of Melbourne, is the Vice President of SIGNIS International Catholic Association for Communication and secretary of its Pacific region.  He is a broadcaster and television and video producer and writer who has been involved with Catholic, ecumenical and interfaith communications at a national and international level for many years.

SIGNIS is the official church organisation for communications, with representation on the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The international secretariat is in Brussels while a technical division that assists the church in developing countries is based in Rome. SIGNIS has members in 140 countries.  As Vice President, Mr Thomas is the Coordinator of Television Production and Distribution and chair of the Finance Committee of the international board. The Pacific region covers 22 nations and the secretariat operates from Melbourne.