Pope stresses importance of reflection on "Ethics in the Internet"
ROME, 16 (NE) Pope John Paul II welcomed today participants in
the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications, thanking them for their "support of the Church's
diversified presence in the world of the media". "Over the
years," the Pope said, "the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications has acquired a very positive experience of
cooperation with the international media in bringing the
important events of the Church's life to people in all parts of
the world."
Recalling the council's document of June 2000, "Ethics in
Communication," the Holy Father stressed that this document
"sought to offer moral guidance regarding the use of the media,
a varied and complex human reality in which ethical concerns are
often subordinated to commercial interests." "I am pleased", he
continued, "that in these days you have been considering a
similar document on the theme of 'Ethics in the Internet', which
would indeed be timely, given the rapid spread of
cyber-communications and the many moral questions involved. The
Church cannot be a mere spectator of the social results of
technological advances."
"The problems and opportunities created by new technology, by
the process of globalization, by deregulation and privatization
of the media present new ethical and indeed spiritual challenges
to those who work in social communications. These challenges
will be met effectively by those who accept that 'serving the
human person, building up community, grounded in solidarity and
justice and love, and speaking the truth about human life and
its final fulfillment in God were, are and will remain at the
heart of ethics in the media'."
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March 17, 2001
volume 12, no. 76
News from ROME
www.DailyCatholic.org
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