I've been engaged in dialogue recently about the state of the newsmedia, which brought to my attention JPII's recent apostolic letter, "The Rapid Development". I heartily encourage you to read the full text.
The Pope closes with the following hopeful admonition: "Do not be afraid of new technologies! These rank 'among the marvelous things' – inter mirifica – which God has placed at our disposal to discover, to use, and to make known the truth, also the truth about our dignity and about our destiny as his children, heirs of his eternal Kingdom."
It has been my aim through this weblog to fulfill in some small measure the Gospel call elucidated herewith. If you recall my posting from September of last year, I dedicate this blog to the memory of Fulton Sheen, my hero. Bishop Sheen fulfilled this Gospel calling to transform the culture through the effective use of media when he broadcast his radio hours and television programs in the mid-part of last century. Now EWTN does very much the same thing using cable and the internet and all that the 21st century has to offer.
My recent dialogue with the newsmedia also brings to mind a second posting from September on things periodical, which I dredge up from the archives for your perusal. So much of my sentiment in that posting I find confirmed by the Pope in his apostolic letter, yet- not only that posting, but others I have written and recall to mind. Consider the following words of the Pope:
"In the first place, a vast work of formation is needed to assure that the mass media be known and used intelligently and appropriately. The new vocabulary they introduce into society modifies both learning processes and the quality of human relations, so that, without proper formation, these media run the risk of manipulating and heavily conditioning, rather than serving people. This is especially true for young people, who show a natural propensity towards technological innovations, and as such are in even greater need of education in the responsible and critical use of the media.
In the second place, I would like to recall our attention to the subject of media access, and of co-responsible participation in their administration. If the communications media are a good destined for all humanity, then ever-new means must be found – including recourse to opportune legislative measures – to make possible a true participation in their management by all. The culture of co-responsibility must be nurtured.
Finally, there cannot be forgotten the great possibilities of mass media in promoting dialogue, becoming vehicles for reciprocal knowledge, of solidarity and of peace. They become a powerful resource for good if used to foster understanding between peoples; a destructive “weapon” if used to foster injustice and conflicts. My venerable predecessor, Blessed John XXIII, already prophetically warned humanity of such potential risks in the Encyclical, Pacem in Terris."Regarding the first and second directives, my mind is drawn back to the Seth & the City postings I published in December (find them here and here). In those postings, I decried the state of the public library system, which does more to circumvent free speech than its libertarian mantra would suggest. In my mind, the information despots of the public library system "run the risk of manipulating and heavily conditioning, rather than serving people" by stocking a greater number of books which defame the Church instead of representing Her as She is. Their failure to offer a totally representative supply of religious periodicals feeds this impression.
Regarding the third and last directive, my mind is drawn to the startling revelation to which my research of El Salvador led me. El Salvador has been the victim of a flagrant assault by Ignorance. How many Americans even know the country exists nonetheless comprehend the enormity of what the DoD has done there? US foreign policy towards El Salvador (and the rest of Latin America for that matter) may be likened to an armed billionaire stepping on the testicles of a poor, manacled serf and threatening to shoot him if he screams in pain. I rank the Salvadorans among the poorest of the poor nations in the global community because they don't even get dismissive recognition. The only reason our government has a military base there is so they can monitor Columbia! What would have happened, could have happened, should have happened if we had followed the Holy Father's advice about the responsibility of newsmedia to "become a powerful resource for good"? ? ?
That's what Romero tried to do with his radio broadcasts despite frequent vandalism of the radio station by the miltary. He wanted so badly to send a message of HOPE to his people, to be a voice of courage, a righteous soldier of justice, and an enemy of war. For that he was killed.
Dear Oscar, may we have the courage to be such effective witnesses of the Gospel as you were--in our daily lives, in the choices we make, and the views we support. Amen.
4 comments:
I refer in this blogpost to a "recent dialogue about the newsmedia". I decided to provide to you my readers the text of the articles which have spurred this dialogue. They will be posted as separate comments.
Here's the link to the initial article sent to me by a friend:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4350625.stm
Some excerpts from the text:
"Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa, broke the church's official silence on the controversial book.
"Its story about the Church suppressing the "truth" that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene has convinced many fans.
"But the cardinal's spokesman denied reports that the clergyman was asked by the Vatican to hit back at the book.
"Carlo Arcolao told the BBC's News website that it had been the cardinal's own decision to make a public statement about the book.
"On Wednesday, Cardinal Bertone will host a seminar called Storia Senza Storia (Story Without History) to rebut the claims. He said he wanted 'to unmask the lies' so readers could see how 'shameful and unfounded' the book was.
"The cardinal has been deputy to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the man known as "the Pope's enforcer" and a possible successor to the pontiff.
As well as the original novel, published in 2003, another 10 books have been written to debunk its claims and a booming tourist industry has sprung up around its sites."
The problem with this article is that there IS NO 'official silence' about the book, this is not a rebuttal but a seminar, and the mention of Bertone as Ratzinger's deputy has no relevance whatsoever except to illustrate a bias on the BBC's part.
After writing back to my friend a lengthy discourse on the perils of trusting the newsmedia's coverage of any story related to the Church, I posted the current blog.
Then I got my Zenit delivery, and discovered this headline, the text of which follows:
Vatican Crusade Against "Da Vinci Code"? Hardly
Clarifications About Debate Organized by Genoa Archdiocese
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 16, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Newspapers and agencies worldwide have announced over the past two days that the Vatican has launched a crusade against Dan Brown's best seller "The Da Vinci Code."
In fact, what happened is that the Office for Culture and the University of the Archdiocese of Genoa simply organized a debate on the book today, entitled "The Da Vinci Code ... Stories Without History."
Given the repercussions of this initiative, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, archbishop of Genoa, gave an interview Tuesday to Vatican Radio and said, "One cannot be a modern young person without having read 'The Da Vinci Code.'"
"We are aware of the circulation of this book in schools and, for this reason, have taken measures of reflection and also of public, open and determined confrontation," said the cardinal, a former secretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The cardinal attributed the success of Brown's book to a visible strategy, especially after the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
"The Church, with our Pope John Paul II, has made an exceptional impact on present-day humanity, and this has bothered many," he noted.
"The strategy of distribution is the result of absolutely exceptional 'marketing,' including in Catholic bookstores," the cardinal said. "I have complained to Catholic bookstores which, for the sake of profit, display piles of this book.
"And, then, there is the strategy of persuasion: You are not an adult Christian if you don't read this book."
Cardinal Bertone mentioned sociologist Philip Jenkins, who says that the success of the book is one more proof that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice.
"I wonder," said the cardinal, "what would have happened if a book like this had been written, full of lies, on the Buddha or Mohammed or even, for example, if a novel had been published that manipulated the history of the Holocaust."
The debate held today was entitled "The Da Vinci Code -- Stories Without History."
The event's guest speaker Massimo Introvigne, founder and director of the Turin-based Center of Studies on New Religions, sent a written response to ZENIT about the book's historical errors.
Introvigne said that it was necessary to refute the work's errors because it has a page entitled "Fact," where the author Dan Brown asserts that all the descriptions of documents and secret rituals in the novel are accurate and are based, specifically, on the claim that in 1975, the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris discovered parchments, known as Les Dossiers Secrets, which reveal the story of the Priory of Sion.
"The Da Vinci Code" implies that Opus Dei is a "sect" which has entered into conflict with the Church in terms of its knowledge of the Priory of Sion's secrets.
"In the first place, nobody can conceivably blackmail others on the basis of the 'secrets of the Priory of Sion,' which basically do not exist," wrote Introvigne. "These alleged secrets are part of a hoax which proceeds from Plantard to de Sède, from de Sède to Lincoln, and from Lincoln to Dan Brown.
"In terms of the Opus Dei -- where, by the way, there are no 'monks,' contrary to what Dan Brown proposes in his book -- not only it is an institution approved and praised by the Catholic Church, but its founder, José María Escrivá (1902-1975), has been canonized as a saint by the Pope in 2002.
"Dan Brown's 'information' comes from an association of ex-members and other people hostile to the Opus Dei, known as The Opus Dei Awareness Network (ODAN), mentioned explicitly in the novel, which is connected to a much larger 'anti-cult movement.' ... ODAN's aggressive opinions on Opus Dei and its founder are in no way shared by the Catholic hierarchy."
Introvigne said he believes that "The Da Vinci Code" has had such enormous success because it "brings together two types of social 'tastes' which appear to be quite widespread": "on the one hand, the notion of 'conspiracies' and secret societies that dominate the world; and, on the other hand, an increasingly unashamed and virulent anti-Catholicism."
I encourage all of you to practice a healthy skepticism when reading the news and to be alert for the "virulent Anti-Catholicism" prevalent in today's secular culture.
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