MAY THE CINEMA PROMOTE A HUMANISM BASED ON GOSPEL VALUES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 2, 1999 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall, Pope John Paul welcomed the participants in an international study meeting on the theme "The Cinema: Images for a Dialogue Between Peoples and a Culture of Peace in the Third Millennium."

In his talk to the assembly, he underlined how "man, created in the image and likeness of God, is naturally called to peace and harmony with God, with his fellow man, with himself and with all of creation. The cinema can become an interpreter of this natural propensity and strive to be a place of reflection, a call to values, an invitation to dialogue and communion."

But, stated the Pope, man must be considered in all of his "complex and mysterious reality." The film industry must look at "man, all of man, one and indivisible" because "when (the industry) takes into consideration only some aspect of the stupefying complexity of the human being, it inevitably ends up being reductive and cannot perform a fruitful cultural service." He urged artists in the world of cinema "to become ever more aware of your responsibility."

"The cinema enjoys a wealth of languages, a multiplicity of styles and a truly great variety of narrative forms: from realism to fairy tales, from history to science fiction, from adventure to tragedy, from comedy to news, from cartoons to documentaries. ... It can contribute to bringing people closer, to reconciling enemies, to favoring an ever more respectful dialogue between diverse cultures."

John Paul II concluded by expressing the hope that the film industry in the new millennium "will bring an original contribution to promoting a humanism linked to Gospel values."

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