Introduction

A REVOLUTION IN HUMAN COMMUNICATIONS

1. At the dawn of a new era, a vast expansion of human communications is profoundly influencing culture everywhere. Revolutionary technological changes are only part of what is happening. Nowhere today are people untouched by the impact of media upon religious and moral attitudes, political and social systems, and education.

It is impossible to ignore, for instance, that geographical and political boundaries were both of very little avail in view of the role played by communications during the "radical transformations" of 1989 and 1990, on whose historical significance the Pope reflects in Centesimus Annus. ¹

It becomes equally evident that "the first Areopagus of the modern age is the world of communications which is unifying humanity and turning it into what is known as a “global villag”'. The means of social communications have become so important as to be for many the chief means of information and education, of guidance and inspiration in their behavior as individuals, families and within society at large". ²

More than a quarter century after the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council's decree on social communications, Inter Mirifica, and two decades after the pastoral instruction Communio et Progressio, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications wishes to reflect on the pastoral implications of this situation.

We do so in the spirit expressed by the closing words of Communio et Progressio: "The People of God walk in history. As they... advance with their times, they look forward with confidence and even with enthusiasm to whatever the development of communications in a space age may have to offer". ³

Taking for granted the continued validity of the principles and insights of these conciliar and postconciliar documents, we wish to apply them to new and emerging realities. We do not pretend to say the final word on a complex, fluid, rapidly changing situation, but simply wish to provide a working tool, and a measure of encouragement, to those confronting the pastoral implications of the new realities.

2. In the years since Inter Mirifica and Communio et Progressio appeared, people have grown accustomed to expressions like "information society", "mass media culture", and "media generation". Terms like these underline a remarkable fact: today, much that men and women know and think about life is conditioned by the media; to a considerable extent, human experience itself is an experience of media.

Recent decades also have witnessed remarkable developments in the technology of communicating. These include both the rapid evolution of previously existing technologies and the emergence of new telecommunications and media technologies: satellites, cable television, fiber optics, video cassettes, compact discs, computerized image making and other computer and digital technology, and much else. The use of new media gives rise to what some speak of as "new languages" and has given birth to new possibilities for the mission of the Church as well as to new pastoral problems.

3. Against this background we encourage the pastors and people of the Church to deepen their understanding of issues relating to communications and media, and to translate their understanding into practical policies and workable programs.

"As the Council Fathers looked to the future and tried to discern the context in which the Church would be called upon to carry out her mission, they could clearly see that the progress of technology was already "transforming the face of the earth' and even reaching out to conquer space. They recognized that developments in communications technology, in particular, were likely to set off chain reactions with unforeseen consequences". ⁴

"Far from suggesting that the Church should stand aloof or try to isolate herself from the mainstream of these events, the Council Fathers saw the Church as being in the very midst of human progress, sharing the experiences of the rest of humanity, seeking to understand them and to interpret them in the light of faith. It was for God's faithful people to make creative use of the new discoveries and technologies for the benefit of humanity and the fulfilment of God's plan for the world.... employing the full potential of the "computer age" to serve the human and transcendent vocation of every person, and thus to give glory to the Father from whom all good things come". ⁵

We express our gratitude to those responsible for the creative communications work underway in the Church everywhere. Despite difficulties -- arising from limited resources, from the obstacles sometimes placed in the way of the Church's access to media, and from a constant reshaping of culture, values, and attitudes brought about by the pervasive presence of media -- much has been, and continues to be, accomplished. The dedicated bishops, clergy, religious and lay people engaged in this critically important apostolate deserve the thanks of all.

Also welcome are those positive ventures in media-related ecumenical cooperation involving Catholics and their brothers and sisters of other Churches and ecclesial communities, as well as interreligious cooperation with those of other world religions. It is not only appropriate but "necessary for Christians to work together more effectively in their communications efforts and to act in more direct cooperation with other religions to ensure a united religious presence in the very heart of mass communications". ⁶

Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Centesimus Annus, nn. 12-23, in AAS, LXXXIII (1991), pp. 807-821.

JOHN PAUL II, Redemptoris Missio, n. 37, in AAS, LXXXIII (1991), p. 285.

Communio et Progressio, n. 187, in AAS, LXIII (1971), pp. 655-656.

JOHN PAUL II, Message for the World Communications Day 1990, in L'Osservatore Romano, Jan. 25, 1990, p. 6; cf. Gaudium et Spes, n. 5, in AAS, LVIII (1966), p. 1028.

Ibidem.

Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Criteria for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Cooperation in Communications, n. 1, Vatican City, 1989.