PART ONE

THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF THE MEANS
OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION:
BASIC POINTS OF DOCTRINE

6. The channels of social communication, even though they are addressed to individuals, reach and affect the whole of society. ⁹ They inform a vast public about what goes on in the world and about contemporary attitudes and they do it swiftly. That is why they are indispensable to the smooth functioning of modern society with its complex and ever changing needs, and the continual and often close consultations all this involves. This exactly coincides with the Christian conception of how men should live together. These technical advances have the high purpose of bringing men into closer contact with one another. By passing on knowledge of their common fears and hopes they help men to resolve them. A Christian estimate of the contribution that the media make to the well-being of mankind is rooted in this fundamental principle.

7. All over the world, men are at work on improving the conditions for human living and the latest scientific wonders and technical achievements play their part in this. The Christian vision of man, of his motives and of his history, sees in this development a response - though usually an unconscious one - to the divine command to "possess and master the world". ¹⁰ It also sees it as an act of cooperation in the divine work of creation and conservation. ¹¹

It is within this vision that the means of social communication fall into their proper place. They help men share their knowledge and unify their creative work. Indeed, by creating man in His own image, God has given him a share in His creative power. And so man is summoned to cooperate with his fellow man in building the earthly city. ¹²

8. Social communications tend to multiply contacts within society and to deepen social consciousness. As a result the individual is bound more closely to his fellow men and can play his part in the unfolding of history as if led by the hand of God. ¹³ In the Christian faith, the unity and brotherhood of man are the chief aims of all communication and these find their source and model in the central mystery of the eternal communion between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who live a single divine life.

9. The media of social communication can contribute a great deal to human unity. If, however, men's minds and hearts are ill disposed, if good will is not there, this outpouring of technology may produce an opposite effect so that there is less understanding and more discord and, as a result, evils are multiplied. Too often, we have to watch social communications used to contradict or corrupt the fundamental values of human life. The Christian considers these evils evidence of man's need to be redeemed and freed from that sin which entered human history with man's first fall. ¹⁴

10. When, by his own fault, man turned away from his Creator, chaos succeeded crime and man became embroiled in discord and deadly fraternal strife. ¹⁵ He was no longer able to communicate with his fellow men. But for all that, God's love for man persisted, despite its rejection by man. It was He who made the first move to make contact with mankind ¹⁶ at the start of the history of salvation. In the fullness of time, he communicated His very self to man ¹⁷ and "the Word was made flesh ". ¹⁸

When, by His death and resurrection, Christ the Incarnate Son, the Word and Image of the invisible God, ¹⁹ set the human race free, He shared with everyone the truth and the life of God. And He did this more richly and lavishly than ever before. As the only mediator, between the Father and mankind He made peace between God and man and laid the foundations of unity among men themselves. ²⁰ From that moment, communication among men found its highest ideal and supreme example in God who had become Man and Brother. He ordered His disciples, always and everywhere, ²¹ to spread the Good Tidings "in the light of day" and "from the roof tops".²²

11. While He was on earth Christ revealed Himself as the Perfect Communicator. Through His "incarnation", He utterly identified Himself with those who were to receive His communication and He gave His message not only in words but in the whole manner of His life. He spoke from within, that is to say, from out of the press of His people. He preached the Divine message without fear or compromise. He adjusted to His people's way of talking and to their patterns of thought. And He spoke out of the predicament of their time.

Communication is more than the expression of ideas and the indication of emotion. At its most profound level it is the giving of self in love. Christ's communication was, in fact, spirit and life. ²³ In the institution of the Holy Eucharist, Christ gave us the most perfect and most intimate form of communion between God and man possible in this life, and, out of this, the deepest possible unity between men. Further, Christ communicated to us His life-giving Spirit, who brings all men together in unity. ²⁴ The Church is Christ's Mystical Body, the hidden completion of Christ Glorified who "fills the whole creation".²⁵ As a result we move, within the Church and with the help of the word and the sacraments, towards the hope of that last unity where "God will be all in all". ²⁶

12. So, "among the wonderful technical inventions" ²⁷ which foster communication among human beings, Christians find means that have been devised under God's Providence for the encouragement of social relations during their pilgrimage on earth. These means, in fact, serve to build new relationships and to fashion a new language which permits men to know themselves better and to understand one another more easily. By this, men are led to a mutual understanding and shared ambition. And this, in turn, inclines them to justice and peace, to good will and active charity, to mutual help, to love and, in the end, to communion. The tools of communication, then, provide some of the most effective means for the cultivation of that charity among men which is at once the cause and the expression of fellowship.

13. All men of good will, then, are impelled to work together to ensure that the media of communication do in fact contribute to the pursuit of truth and the speeding up of progress. The Christian will find in his faith an added incentive to do this. And the message of the Gospel thus spread will promote this idea which is the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God.

Contact and cooperation among men depend, in the last resort, on man's free choice which, in its turn, is affected by psychological, sociological and technical factors. And so the importance and ultimate significance of the media of communication depend upon the working of man's free choice in their use.

14. Since it is man himself who decides how the available means of communication shall be used, the moral principles at issue here are those based on a true interpretation of the dignity of man. And man, it should be recalled, must be accounted a member of the family of the adopted children of God. At the same time, these principles derive from the essential character of social communication and the innate qualities of the medium in question. This also follows from what is said in Gaudium et spes: "By the very fact of their having been created, all things are endowed with their own stability, truth, goodness, proper laws and order which man must respect...". ²⁸

15. Whoever wants to see the media take their allotted place in the history of Creation, in the Incarnation and Redemption, and to consider the morality that governs their use, must have a full and proper understanding of man. He must also have a sound knowledge both of the true nature of social communication and of the tools at its service. "Communicators" are all those who actively employ the media. These have a duty in conscience to make themselves competent in the art of social communication in order to be effective in their work. ²⁹ And as a man's influence on the process of communication grows, so does this duty. All this applies even more to those who have to instruct the tastes and judgements of others. It applies to those who have to teach the young or the uneducated. And it applies to all who can in any way enrich or impoverish man's nature, whether that man be a man alone or a man engulfed in a crowd.

"Recipients" are those who, for their own purpose, read, listen to or view the various media. Everything possible should be done to enable these to know about the media. So they will be able to interpret their message accurately, to reap their benefit in full and play their part in the life of society. Only if this is done will the media function in the best possible way.

16. The total output of the media in any given area should be judged by the contribution it makes to the common good. ³⁰ Its news, culture and entertainment should meet the growing needs of society. The news of something that has happened must be given and so too must the background of the event so that people can understand society's problems and work for their solution. A proper balance must be kept, not only between hard news, educational material and entertainment but also between the light and the more serious forms of that entertainment.

17. Every communication must comply with certain essential requirements and these are sincerity, honesty and truthfulness. Good intentions and a clear conscience do not thereby make a communication sound and reliable. A communication must state the truth. It must accurately reflect the situation with all its implications. The moral worth and validity of any communication does not lie solely in its theme or intellectual content. The way in which it is presented, the way in which it is spoken and treated and even the audience for which it is designed - all these factors must be taken into account. ³¹

18. A deeper understanding and a greater sympathy between men, as well as fruitful cooperation in creative work, these are the marvellous benefits that should come from social communication. Those are ideals which are completely in tune with the aims of the People of God. Indeed they are strengthened and reinforced by them. "For the promotion of unity belongs to the innermost nature of the Church," since she is "by her relationship with Christ, both a sacramental sign and an instrument of intimate union with God, and of the unity of all mankind". ³²

Inter Mirifica, 1.

Gen 1:26-28; cf. Gen 9:2-3; Wis 9:2-3; Gaudium et Spes, 34.

Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 34.

Cf . ibid., 57.

Cf . Gaudium et Spes, 36; The Encyclical by Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris, A.A.S., LV (1963), p. 257 and passim

Cf . Rom 5:12-14.

Cf. Gen 4:1-16; 11:1-9.

Cf. Gen 3:15; 9:1-17; 12:1-3.

Cf . Heb 1:1-2.

Jn 1:14.

Col 1:15; II Cor 4:4.

Cf . Ad Gentes, 3.

Mt 28:19.

Mt 10:27; Lk 12:3.

Jn 6:53.

Cf . Lumen Gentium, A.A.S., LVII (1965), no. 9, p. 14.

Eph 1:23; 4:10.

I Cor 15:28.

Inter Mirifica, 1.

Gaudium et spes, 36.

Cf . ibid., 43.

The "Common Good" is defined in the Encylical by Pope John XXIII, Mater et Magistra as the "sum of those conditions of social life by which men can attain their perfection more fully and with greater ease". A.A.S., LIII (1961), p. 417. See also Pacem in Terris, A.A.S., LV (1963), pp. 272-274; Dignitatis Humanae, 6; Gaudium et Spes, 26 and 74.

Cf Cf. Inter Mirifica, 4.

Gaudium et Spes, 42; Lumen Gentium, 1.