NEWS for Monday, June 5, 2000
JOHN PAUL II GRATEFUL TO JOURNALISTS
Conclusion of Jubilee of Professional Communicators
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 4 (ZENIT.org).
The Journalists' Jubilee, which was
attended by more than 7,000 professional communicators, ended shortly
after midday today with a Papal meeting.
During the meeting, held in the general audience hall in the Vatican,
John Paul II said, "I have greatly looked forward to this meeting with
you, dear journalists, not only to be with you on your Jubilee journey,
as I am doing with many other groups, but also to pay a personal debt of
gratitude that I have with innumerable professionals who, over the years
of my pontificate, have worked to make the words and works of my
ministry known."
"For all this commitment, for the objectivity and courtesy that have
characterized a great part of this service, I am profoundly grateful and
ask the Lord hat he will give each one of you an appropriate
recompense," the Pontiff said.
The Holy Father was greeted on behalf of all the participants by
Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications, and Theresa Ee-Chooi, president of the International
Catholic Press Union.
Ethics and Journalism
The Pontiff analyzed the meaning of the vocation of Christians committed
to the world of communication, in order to demonstrate a fundamental
point of the ethical question connected with their work. He commented
that "with their enormous and direct influence on public opinion,
journalism cannot only be guided by economic forces, by profit or
partisan interests. On the contrary, it must be regarded in a certain
sense as a sacred task, exercised with the awareness that the powerful
means of communication are entrusted to journalists for the good of all,
and in particular, for the good of the weakest strata of society: from
children to the poor, and from the sick to marginalized persons
suffering discrimination."
"You cannot write or broadcast only in function of the size of the
audience, to the detriment of really informative services. Nor can you
appeal indiscriminately to the right to information without keeping in
mind the other rights of the person. No liberty, including that of
absolute freedom of expression, is without the limit of the duty to
respect the dignity and liberty of others."
John Paul II also thanked the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications for the document it recently published on ethics in
communications, and emphasized that it is possible to be authentic
Christians and excellent journalists simultaneously. Moreover, he
concluded, "The world of the media needs men and women who, day after
day make an effort to live this double dimension better."
Earlier, in this same Vatican Auditorium, journalists from 60 countries
attended a Jubilee Mass, celebrated by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray,
president of the Central Committee of the Great Jubilee. During the
homily, the Cardinal explained how the Gospel can illuminate the
journalists' profession, a profession that does not change, in spite of
the advent of multimedia technologies that do away with time and
distance. "Some have even forecast that we are entering an era without
journalists. Sometimes you feel frustrated or even dispossessed of your
ancestral role of choosing, verifying and interpreting events."
After referring to the new questions posited by the world of
information, Cardinal Etchegaray analyzed the complex relation between
the Church and the media. This is a difficult relation, "because the
Church, like her Lord, is always hanging on the pillory of public
opinion. And if it is true that the Gospel is News, 'Good News,' that
must be entrusted to all the media, the Church's paradox, as regards the
media, is that she is never more faithful to her mission as when she
invites to mystery and leads to interiority, to contemplation; but then
each journalist is also called to be an angel of the Most High in every
circumstance."
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During a meeting last Friday with
journalists who were in Rome to participate in their Jubilee, Cardinal
Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State, said that no journalist,
whether believer or non-believer, no media, regardless of its
orientation, has the right to reject an elementary law: "respect for
truth and liberty."
This was an unprecedented meeting held in the Vatican general audience
hall. The hall accommodated some 1,000 journalists from around the
world, who were free to ask questions. A satellite was supposed to link
them with colleagues in Washington, Johannesburg, Manila, and Mexico
City but, as often happens on these occasions, there were technical
glitches at the last minute, and only the linkup with the United States
and South Africa were effected. Next to Cardinal Sodano at the head
table were Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council
for Social Communications; Archbishop François Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan,
president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Bishop
Diarmuid Martin, secretary of that Vatican Council; and Bishop Celestino
Migliore, Under-Secretary for Relations with States of the Vatican State
Secretariat.
The Church in the Front Line for Peace
Given the international audience, in opening the meeting Cardinal Sodano
spoke about the Holy See's commitment to peace in the world, assuring
his listeners that it "would never diminish." "Man's future is at
stake," the Cardinal emphasized. Consequently, in the 21st century the
Church will continue with the line that was followed by each of the 20th
century Popes: from Benedict XV to John Paul II. The Pontiff must be "a
Good Samaritan on the roads of the world who, in the first place, helps
those who suffer because of wars, and who then intervenes to prevent new
conflicts."
In regard to the work carried out by Vatican diplomacy, the Cardinal
said, "Some would like us to act on the world scene more aggressively;
others prefer discreet and methodical action, in keeping with the
classic method of international diplomacy; there are those who would
like public denunciations; others who prefer the Holy See to be
dedicated to profound and silent action in assisting those who govern.
The methods may vary but one thing is certain: the Holy See's commitment
to peace will never diminish. The future of humanity is at stake."
One of the questions a journalist in the hall asked regarded the problem
of the foreign debt. "Are you happy with the results achieved?" he asked
Bishop Martin, Secretary of Justice and Peace.
The Bishop responded that, although the topic has caught the attention
of the international public over the last few years, he expressed his
disappointment with the behavior of the developed nations. "The results
have not measured up to our expectations," he said. "Not even the
promises made in three G8 meetings have been respected."
Christ, the Great Journalist
Friday, the second day of the Journalists' Jubilee, began with a talk on
"Truth and Witness," given by Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, prefect
of the Congregation for the Clergy. According to the Cardinal,
journalists of the year 2000 can inspire themselves in Christ, even in
their professional work. Christ was "the great communicator of God the
Father, the journalist of history."
"Journalism also needs saints," the Colombian Cardinal concluded.
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