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Design phase
27. After gathering and studying these data, the
planning team should identify conference or diocesan communications goals and
priorities. This is the beginning of the design phase. The planning team should
then proceed to address each of the following issues as it relates to local
circumstances.
28.Education. Communications issues and mass communications are
relevant to every level of pastoral ministry, including education. A pastoral
social communications plan should attempt:
a) to offer educational opportunities in communications
as essential components of the formation of all persons who are engaged in the
work of the Church: seminarians, priests, religious brothers and sisters, and
lay leaders;
b) to encourage Catholic schools and universities to
offer programs and courses related to the communications needs of the Church
and society;
c) to offer courses, workshops and seminars in
technology, management and communications ethics and policy issues for Church
communicators, seminarians, religious and clergy;
d) to plan and carry out programs in media education
and media literacy for teachers, parents, and students;
e) to encourage creative artists and writers accurately
to reflect Gospel values as they share their gifts through the written word,
legitimate theatre, radio, television and film for entertainment and education;
f) to identify new strategies for evangelization and
catechesis through the application of communications technology and mass
communications.
29.
Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Care. Lay Catholic professionals and others working in either the Church
apostolate of social communications or the secular media often look to the Church
for spiritual guidance and pastoral care. A pastoral plan for social
communications therefore should seek:
a) to offer opportunities for professional enrichment
to lay Catholic and other professional communicators through days of
recollection, retreats, seminars, and professional support groups;
b) to offer pastoral care which will provide the
necessary support, nourish the communicators' faith and keep alive their sense
of dedication in the difficult task of communicating Gospel values and
authentic human values to the world.
30. Cooperation. Cooperation involves sharing
resources among conferences and/or dioceses and between dioceses and other
institutions, such as religious communities, universities, and health care facilities.
A pastoral plan for social communications should be designed:
a) to enhance relations and encourage mutual
consultation between Church representatives and media professionals, who have
much to teach the Church about the use of media;
b) to explore cooperative productions through regional
and national centers and to encourage the development of joint promotion,
marketing, and distribution networks;
c) to promote cooperation with religious congregations
working in social communications;
d) to collaborate with ecumenical organizations and
with other Churches and religious groups regarding ways of securing and
guaranteeing access to the media by religion, and to collaborate in "the
more recently-developed media: especially in regard to the common use of
satellites, data banks, and cable networks and in informatics generally,
beginning with system compatibility";34
e) to cooperate with secular media, especially in
regard to common concerns on religious, moral, ethical, cultural, educational
and social issues.
31. Public Relations. Public relations by the
Church means active communication with the community through both secular and
religious media. Involving readiness to communicate Gospel values and to
publicize the ministries and programs of the Church, it requires that the
Church do all in its power to ensure that its own true image reflects Christ. A
pastoral plan for social communications should seek:
a) to maintain public relations offices with adequate
human and material resources to make possible effective communication between
the Church and the community as a whole;
b) to produce publications and radio, television and
video programs of excellent quality which give high visibility to the message
of the Gospel and the mission of the Church;
c) to promote media awards and other means of
recognition in order to encourage and support media professionals;
d) to celebrate World Communications Day as a means of
fostering awareness of the importance of social communications and supporting
the communications initiatives of the Church.
32. Research. The Church's strategies in the
field of social communications must be based on the results of sound media
research which have been subjected to informed analysis and evaluation. It is
important that communications research include topics and issues of particular
relevance to the mission of the Church in the particular nation and region
involved. A pastoral plan for social communications should be designed:
a) to encourage institutes of higher studies, research
centers, and universities to engage in both applied and fundamental research
related to communications needs and concerns of the Church and society;
b) to identify practical ways of interpreting current
communications research and applying it to the mission of the Church;
c) to support ongoing theological reflection upon the
processes and instruments of social communications and their role in the Church
and society.
33. Communications and Development of Peoples.
Accessible point-to-point communications and mass media offer many people a
more adequate opportunity to participate in the modern world economy, to
experience freedom of expression, and to contribute to the emergence of peace
and justice in the world. A pastoral plan for social communications should be
designed:
a) to bring Gospel values to bear upon the broad range
of contemporary media activities -- from book publishing to satellite
communications -- so as to contribute to the growth of international
solidarity;
b) to defend the public interest and to safeguard
religious access to the media by taking informed, responsible positions on
matters of communications law and policy, and on the development of
communications systems;
c) to analyze the social impact of advanced
communications technology and to help prevent undue social disruption and
cultural destabilization;
d) to assist professional communicators in articulating
and observing ethical standards, especially in regard to the issues of
fairness, accuracy, justice, decency, and respect for life;
e) to develop strategies for encouraging more
widespread, representative, responsible access to the media;
f) to exercise a prophetic role by speaking out in
timely fashion from a Gospel perspective concerning the moral dimensions of
significant public issues.
Vatican
City, February 22, 1992, Feast of the Chair of St Peter the Apostle.
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