VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received three hundred representatives from the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies a body which, since 1966, has represented all diocesan and Catholic-inspired weekly publications in the country.
In his address to them the Pope affirmed that creating channels of communication between the various organs of the local press "was a response to the need to promote collaboration ... so as to increase the efficiency and incisiveness of the announcement of the evangelical message. The specific function of Catholic-inspired newspapers", he said, "is to announce the Good News by recounting the concrete events that Christian communities experience in the real situations in which they live".
"One of the most important cultural challenges in our own post-modern world involves the way we understand truth. The dominant culture, the culture propagated by the areopagus of the media, adopts a sceptical and relativist attitude towards truth, considering it as equivalent to mere opinion and, consequently, believing that many truths can legitimately coexist. But the desire that lies in the heart of man testifies to the impossibility of resting content with partial truths. ... The truth for which man thirsts is a person: the Lord Jesus. By encountering this Truth ... we find peace and true happiness. The Church's mission consists in creating the conditions that make this meeting between man and Christ possible.
"Collaborating in this task", he added, "the communications media are called to serve the truth with courage so as to help public opinion contemplate and decipher reality from an evangelical standpoint. This means presenting the reasons for the faith which, as such, surpass any ideological vision and have the full right to exist in public debate. From here arises your constant commitment to give voice to a point of view that reflects Catholic thought in all ethical and social questions".
"Continue to be newspapers of the people", Benedict XVI concluded. "Seek to favour true dialogue between the various elements of social life, be arenas for confrontation and debate between contrasting opinions. By doing this, the Catholic press, while undertaking the vital task of informing, will also play an indispensable formational role, promoting evangelical knowledge of complex reality, and educating critical minds and Christian consciences".
AC/ VIS 20101126 (380)
In his address to them the Pope affirmed that creating channels of communication between the various organs of the local press "was a response to the need to promote collaboration ... so as to increase the efficiency and incisiveness of the announcement of the evangelical message. The specific function of Catholic-inspired newspapers", he said, "is to announce the Good News by recounting the concrete events that Christian communities experience in the real situations in which they live".
"One of the most important cultural challenges in our own post-modern world involves the way we understand truth. The dominant culture, the culture propagated by the areopagus of the media, adopts a sceptical and relativist attitude towards truth, considering it as equivalent to mere opinion and, consequently, believing that many truths can legitimately coexist. But the desire that lies in the heart of man testifies to the impossibility of resting content with partial truths. ... The truth for which man thirsts is a person: the Lord Jesus. By encountering this Truth ... we find peace and true happiness. The Church's mission consists in creating the conditions that make this meeting between man and Christ possible.
"Collaborating in this task", he added, "the communications media are called to serve the truth with courage so as to help public opinion contemplate and decipher reality from an evangelical standpoint. This means presenting the reasons for the faith which, as such, surpass any ideological vision and have the full right to exist in public debate. From here arises your constant commitment to give voice to a point of view that reflects Catholic thought in all ethical and social questions".
"Continue to be newspapers of the people", Benedict XVI concluded. "Seek to favour true dialogue between the various elements of social life, be arenas for confrontation and debate between contrasting opinions. By doing this, the Catholic press, while undertaking the vital task of informing, will also play an indispensable formational role, promoting evangelical knowledge of complex reality, and educating critical minds and Christian consciences".
AC/ VIS 20101126 (380)
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