DATE: May 3, 2001
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, Contact:
Bud Bunce (503) 233-8373
bbunce@archdpdx.org
WORLD COMMUNICATION DAY CELEBRATION
INCLUDES CALL FOR RESPONSIBLE
MEDIA
The Catholic Church annually celebrates World Communications Day. The theme
chosen by Pope John Paul II for this year
is "Preach from the housetops": The
Gospel in the Age of Global Communications.
In his statement for World
Communications Day Pope John Paul II noted
that "the Church cannot fail to be
ever more deeply involved in the burgeoning
world of communications. The global
communications network is extending and
growing more complex by the day, and
the media are having an increasingly visible
effect on culture and its transmission."
The Holy Father stated that the media are vitally important for the evangelization
and proclamation of the Gospel. He wrote,
"as much as the world of the media may
at times seem at odds with the Christian
message, it also offers unique opportunities
for proclaiming the saving truth of Christ
to the whole human family." He
continued, "the Church's presence in the
media is in fact an important aspect of the
inculturation of the Gospel demanded by
the new evangelization to which the Holy
Spirit is summoning the Church throughout
the world."
The Bishops in the United States have designated that World Communications
Day
will be celebrated in the weekend of May
19-20, 2001. As part of that celebration in
the U. S., parishioners will have the
opportunity to participate in the second "renewing
the mind of the media" campaign.
In 1998 the United States Catholic Bishops issued the pastoral statement,
"Renewing the Mind of the Media: A Statement
on Overcoming the Exploitation of Sex
and Violence in Communications". In December
2000, parishioners were invited to join
in the first of a five-year effort to
"renew the mind of the media." In preparing for this
second year's effort, Archbishop John
G. Vlazny reminded Pastors that "the purpose of
the "renewing the mind of the media" campaign
is to help our Catholic families choose
and promote media choices which uphold
moral values, strengthen families and
promote a just society. The campaign is
intended to give our people the confidence
that working together we can "renew the
mind of the media."
This year in addition to considering a specific action in which to participate,
Catholics are asked to clip and return
to their parish a coupon that indicates their
participation in the "renewing the mind
of the media" campaign. The number of
participants from each parish will be
reported to the Archdiocese and then to the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Bishops want to be able to share such
numbers with members of the national media
and show that Catholics are concerned
about the values portrayed in the media.
The pledge states:
"We pledge to work together to encourage all those responsible for the
media we use
each day to carry out their service responsibly
and to eliminate that which diminishes
our appreciation of God's image in creation.
We pledge to encourage in all forms of
media whatever upholds moral values, strengthens
families, and promotes a just and
peaceful society. We also pledge to reject
media that produce immoral content and
demean the dignity of the human person."
Suggested activities for putting the pledge into action include:
> Contact a media outlet to approve or
disapprove of a particular program, recording, video,
movie, publication or web
site.
> Use media together with my family ---
watch a TV program, go to a movie, share
a Catholic newspaper or magazine
article, view a Web site -- and discuss its
meaning and implication for
our lives.
> Trade one hour a week using media for an hour in prayer.
> Seek out and use media that explore faith and spiritual issues.
> Skip a few movies or rental videos and
use the money saved to help someone in
need.
> Offer an explanation the next time I
tell my children not to watch or read
something.
> Monitor the amount of time my family
spends on the Internet and pay particular
attention to the web sites
that my children may explore.
> Use reliable sources for evaluating what
movies and television programs to
watch such as the Catholic
Bishops' Film and Broadcasting office's movie review
line (1-800-311-4222).
Pope John Paul reminds Catholics that we cannot neglect or ignore the media,
"Catholics should not be afraid to throw
open the doors of social communications to
Christ, so that his Good News may be heard
from the housetops of the world!"
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