“The institutional communication of the Church in society” was the theme of the annual assembly of the diocesan delegates for social communication in Spain. According to José María Gil Tamayo, director of the mass media secretariat of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, “the Church, which was the master of communication during history, is now lamenting its shortcomings. The image of the Church that appears in the mass media is linked either to a scandal or to a politicized and polemical view. But there is a Church that helps, that cares, that teaches, that serves, and that is not shown to public opinion”. If religion occupies so little space in the Spanish mass media, that means that “objective and true information about the reality” of Spanish life has been renounced, “since religion in Spain is not marginal, but occupies a specific position and plays an important role in public and private life”. Tamayo proposes therefore that the Church should boost its communication capacity by “using more material means, by employing professionals, and by adopting current language”.
