VATICAN CITY, DEC 3, 2004 (VIS) - Two-hundred participants in a meeting promoted by the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies, representing about 150 diocesan newspapers, were welcomed today by the Holy Father who thanked them "for the service you render to building a civilization of love" which, "in the era of global communications is an ever-more difficult mission."
"Italy, thank God, has a rich tradition of Catholic weeklies," said the Pope. "The contribution of Catholic journalists is all the more precious today, on the pastoral level as well as the cultural and social levels. Above all, they offer an information service on the life of the Church, together with supplements of documentation and a deeper look at ecclesial issues and their contents."
These weeklies, he noted, permeate "families, parishes and cities with the Christian values that form great part of the spiritual patrimony of the Italian people. I am thinking in particular of the safeguarding of human life in its entirety; I am also thinking of marriage and the family, whose nature a poorly understood culture of 'personal rights' tends to distort; And lastly, I am thinking of the values of truth, justice and solidarity."
John Paul II encouraged his guests in their work: "Pursue with commitment the announcement of the Gospel of truth and hope from the singular 'pulpits' that diocesan weeklies are, remaining always open to the broader perspectives of the universal Church." He urged them to nourish their spiritual life with prayer and the sacraments and "to enrich your ethical and cultural formation."
AC/CATHOLIC WEEKLIES/... VIS 20041203 (270)
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