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Freedom of information in the service
of truth
During the meeting with the representatives of the
international press on Saturday 21 October [1978], the Holy Father delivered
the following address.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I bid you welcome! And thank you heartily for
everything you have done, and for everything you will do, to present to
the general public, in the press, on the radio, and on television, the
events in the Catholic Church which have gathered you several times at
Rome within the last two months.
Certainly, at the mere professional level, you have
lived through days as tiring as they were moving. The sudden,
unforeseeable character of the facts that followed one another, obliged
you to appeal to a sum of knowledge in the area of religious information
that was, perhaps, unfamiliar to you; and then to meet, under conditions
that were sometimes feverish, a requirement marked by the malady of the
century: haste. For you, to wait for the white smoke was not a restful
hour!
Expresses gratitude
Thank you in the first place for having echoed so
widely, with unanimous respect, the extensive and really historic labour
of the great Pope Paul VI. Thank you for having made so familiar the
smiling face and the evangelical attitude of my immediate Predecessor,
John Paul I. Thank you again for the favourable coverage you gave to the
recent conclave, to my election and to the first steps I have taken in
the heavy office of the pontificate. In any case, it was an opportunity
for you not only to speak of persons who pass but of the See of Rome, of the Church,
her traditions and her rites, her faith, her problems and her hopes, of
St Peter and the role of the Pope, of the great spiritual stakes of
today: in short, of the mystery of the Church. Allow me to dwell a
little on this aspect: it is difficult to present well the true face of
the Church.
Progress visible
Yes, it is always difficult to read events, and to
enable others to read them. In the first place they are nearly always
complex. It is enough for an element to be forgotten inadvertently,
omitted deliberately, minimized or on the contrary emphasized
disproportionately, to distort the present vision and the forecasts to
come. Ecclesial events, furthermore, are more difficult to grasp for
those who contemplate them I say it in all respect for everyone outside a vision of faith, and even
more difficult to express to a large public which has difficulty in
perceiving their real meaning. You must, nevertheless, arouse the
interest and win a hearing from this public, while your agencies ask you
often and above all for the sensational. Some are then tempted to drop
into the anecdote: it is concrete and it may be very good, but on
condition that the anecdote is significant and really related to the
nature of the religious phenomenon. Others plunge courageously into a
very advanced analysis of the problems and motives of ecclesial persons,
with the risk of not considering sufficiently the essential which, as
you know, is not of a political but of a spiritual nature. Finally, from
this last point of view, things are often more simple than is imagined:
I hardly dare speak of my election!
But this is not the time to examine in detail all the
risks and merits of your task as reporters of religious news. Let us
note, moreover, that here and there some progress seems to be visible in
pursuit of the truth, and in understanding and presentation of the
religious phenomenon. I congratulate you on the part you have played in
it.
Religious information
Perhaps you yourselves have been surprised and
encouraged by the importance attributed to it, in all countries, by a
very wide public which some people thought was indifferent or allergic
to the ecclesiastical institution and to spiritual things. In actual
fact, the handing down of the supreme office, entrusted by Christ to St
Peter, with regard to all the peoples to be evangelized and to all the
disciples of Christ to be gathered in unity, really appeared as a
reality transcending habitual events. Yes, the handing down of this
office has a deep echo in spirits and in hearts which perceive that God
is at work in history. It was loyal to acknowledge it and to adapt to it
the media of social communication which, in different degrees, you have
at your disposal.
It is my wish precisely that craftsmen of religious
information may always find the help they need from competent ecclesial
organisms. The latter must receive them in respect for their convictions
and their profession, supply them with very adequate and very objective
documentation, but also propose to them a Christian perspective which
sets facts in their true significance for the Church and for mankind. In
this way you will be able to tackle these religious reports with the
specific competence that they demand.
You are very concerned about freedom of information
and of expression: you are right. Think yourselves lucky to enjoy it!
Use this freedom well to grasp the truth more closely and to admit your
readers, your listeners or viewers into "whatever is true, whatever
is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is gracious", to repeat the words of St Paul (Ph 4:8);
into what helps them to live in justice and brotherhood, to discover the
ultimate meaning of life, to open them up to the mystery of God, so near
each of us. Under these conditions, your profession, so demanding and
sometimes so exhausting I was going to say your vocation so topical and so beautiful will
elevate further the spirit and the heart of men of good will, at the
same time as the faith of Christians. It is a service which the Church
and humanity appreciate.
Grasp the authentic
I venture to call upon you also to an effort of
comprehension, as to a loyal pact: when you report on the life and
activity of the Church, try even more to grasp the authentic, deep and
spiritual motivations of the Church's thought and action. The Church, on
her side, listens to the objective testimony of journalists on the
expectations and demands of this world. That does not mean, of course,
that she models her message on the world of her time: it is the Gospel
that must always inspire her attitude.
I am happy at this first contact with you. I assure
you of my understanding and I take the liberty of relying on yours. I
know that in addition to your professional problems, to which we will
come back another time, you each have your personal and family cares.
Let us not be afraid to entrust them to the Virgin Mary, who is always
at Christ's side. And in Christ's name, I willingly bless you.
The Holy Father then continued in English:
I would like to offer my greetings and my blessing,
not only to you, but to all your colleagues throughout the world.
Although you represent different cultures, you are all united in the
service of truth. And the corps that you make up here today is, in
itself, a splendid manifestation of unity and solidarity. I would ask to
be remembered to your families and to your fellow-citizens in your
respective countries. Please accept all of you my expression of respect, esteem and
fraternal love.
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