Monday, January 24, 2011

CATHOLIC MEDIA WORKERS: LIVE IN CONFORMITY TO THE GOSPEL

VATICAN CITY, 24 JAN 2011 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, the Message for the forty-fifth World Day of Social Communications was presented. Its theme this year is: "Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age".

  Participating in today's press conference were Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, Msgr. Paul Tighe, Msgr. Giuseppe Antonio Scotti and Angelo Scelzo, respectively president, secretary, adjunct secretary and under secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

  Archbishop Celli affirmed that "this year's Message has its starting point in a reality that is becoming increasingly evident today: the fact that an authentic cultural transformation is taking place as new technologies alter not only the way we communicate, but communication itself".

  "The new technologies", he continued, "offer mankind great opportunities to come together, overcoming the limitations of distance and of culture of origin. They create the possibility to form new friendships, despite the inevitable risks".

  "The new relational opportunities offered by modern technology highlight how today it is possible not only to exchange information, but to share a world view, to share hopes and ideals", the archbishop said.

  "The Pope links three human aspects which are very important in modern life: digital communications, image of self and coherence of life. Communicational dynamics in the digital world create new ways to construct personal identity, and its is here that the Holy Father makes a call for coherence and authenticity".

  The Message, Archbishop Celli concluded, "speaks of a 'Christian way' of being present" in the digital world. "This is what makes the title of the Message meaningful, in the sense that the Christian testimony of Catholic professionals cannot be limited to simply dealing with religious topics, but is called to reveal itself in the form of concrete personal witness. Living a life that conforms to the Gospel is itself a form of proclamation, an explicit form of communication which makes the proclamation credible. More than ever, the requirement of making the Gospel known in all its integrity must become a distinctive sign of the digital age".
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