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.

Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Criteria for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Cooperation in Communications, n. 14.