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MESSAGE
OF THE HOLY FATHER
FOR THE
XXXIII WORLD COMMUNICATIONS
DAY
Sunday, May 16, 1999
Theme: “Mass media: a friendly companion for those in
search of the Father”
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. We are approaching the Great Jubilee, the two
thousandth anniversary of the Birth of Jesus Christ, the Word of
God made flesh, the celebration which will open the door to the
third Christian millennium. In this last year of preparation, the
Church turns to God our Father, contemplating the mystery of
his infinite mercy. He is the God from whom all life comes and
to whom it will return; and he is the One who journeys with us
from birth to death as our friend and companion on the way.
I have chosen as the theme for this year's World
Communications Day "Mass media: a friendly companion for
those in search of the Father". The theme implies two
questions: how might the media work with God rather than
against him? and how might the media be a friendly companion to
those searching for God's loving presence in their lives? It also
implies a statement of fact and a reason for thanks: that
the media do at times make it possible for those who are searching
for God to read in new ways both the book of nature, which is the
realm of reason, and the book of revelation, the Bible, which is
the realm of faith. Finally the theme implies an invitation and
a hope: that those responsible for the world of social
communications will be ever more committed to help rather than
hinder the search for meaning which is at the very heart of human
life.
2. To be human is to go in search; and, as I stressed in
my recent Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio, all human
searching is in the end a search for God: "Faith and
reason are like two wings upon which the human spirit rises to the
contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a
desire to know the truth - in a word, to know himself - so that,
by knowing and loving God, men and women may come to know the
truth of themselves" (1). The Great Jubilee will be a
celebration of God who is the goal of all human searching, a
celebration of the endless mercy which all men and women desire -
even though they often find themselves thwarted by sin which, in
the expression of Saint Augustine, is like looking for the right
thing in the wrong place (cf. Confessions, X, 38). We sin
when we look for God where he cannot be found.
Therefore, in speaking of "those who are searching for the
Father", this year's theme for World Communications Day
speaks of every man and woman. All are searching, though
not all are looking in the right place. The theme recognizes the
exceptional influence of the media in contemporary culture, and
therefore the media's special responsibility to witness to the
truth about life, about human dignity, about the true meaning of
our freedom and mutual interdependence.
3. On the journey of human searching, the Church wishes
to befriend the media, knowing that every form of cooperation will
be for the good of everyone. Cooperation also means that we come
to know each other better. At times, relations between the Church
and the media can be marred by mutual misunderstanding which
breeds fear and distrust. It is true that Church culture and media
culture are different; indeed at certain points there is a stark
contrast. But there is no reason why differences should make
friendship and dialogue impossible. In many of the deepest
friendships it is precisely differences that encourage creativity
and bridge-building.
The Church's culture of remembrance can save the media
culture of transitory "news" from becoming a
forgetfulness which corrodes hope; and the media can help the
Church to proclaim the Gospel in all its enduring freshness in the
everyday reality of people's lives. The Church's culture of wisdom
can save the media culture of information from becoming a
meaningless accumulation of facts; and the media can help the
Church's wisdom to remain alert to the array of new knowledge now
emerging. The Church's culture of joy can save the media
culture of entertainment from becoming a soulless flight
from truth and responsibility; and the media can help the Church
to understand better how to communicate with people in a way that
appeals and even delights. These are just some examples of how
closer cooperation in a spirit of friendship and at a deeper level
can help both the Church and the media to serve the men and women
of our time in their search for meaning and fulfilment.
4. With the recent explosion of information technology,
the possibility for communication between individuals and groups
in every part of the world has never been greater. Yet,
paradoxically, the very forces which can lead to better
communication can also lead to increasing self-centerdness and
alienation. We find ourselves therefore in a time of both
threat and promise. Nobody of good will wants the threat to
prevail in a way that will lead to still more human sorrow - least
of all at the end of a century and a millennium which have had
more than their share of sorrow.
Let us look instead with great hope to the new millennium,
trusting that there will be people in both the Church and the
media prepared to cooperate to ensure that the promise prevails
over the threat, communication over alienation. This will ensure
that the world of the media becomes a more and more friendly
companion to all people, presenting them with "news"
wedded to remembrance, information wedded to wisdom and
entertainment wedded to joy. It will also ensure a world where the
Church and the media can work together for the good of humanity.
That is what is required if the power of the media is to be not a
force which destroys but a love which creates, a love which
reflects the love of God "who is Father of all, who is over
all and through all and in all" (Eph 4:6).
May all who work in the world of social communications know the
joy of divine companionship, so that in knowing the friendship of
God they may be enabled to befriend all men and women on their
journey to the house of the Father, to whom be honor and glory,
praise and thanksgiving, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, for
ever and ever.
24 January 1999, the Feast of Saint Francis de Sales JOANNES PAULUS II |
