Daring to risk the marketplace” “

The 37th World Day of Social Communications will be celebrated in the various dioceses on Sunday, 1st June. Its theme this year is “The means of social communication at the service of genuine peace in the light of ‘Pacem in Terris'”, which is also the title of the Pope’s Message, published, as usual, on 24 January, feast day of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists. “The Church has a message and it is her duty to proclaim it also through the media – declares the Commission for the media of the Conference of Swiss bishops in presenting the Word Day on 1st June. Inspired by the Pope’s Message, they have chosen the slogan “The media for peace”. “The Catholic media honour this commitment in many ways – explain the Swiss bishops -; but some are little known. Such activities also have a need for financial support and just on this Sunday, Catholics in Switzerland are given an opportunity to support this cause”. Below we present some reflection on the meaning of the Day by three Swiss episcopal experts: Msgr. Bernard Genoud , delegate for the media of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference and president of the French-speaking Group of the Council of European bishops for communications, auxiliary bishop of Chur Peter Henrici and Bishop Giuseppe Torti of Lugano. The “risk of the marketplace”. Why a Sunday dedicated to the mass media? Above all to “educate people in the essential role of the media in our society – says Msgr. Genoud –. The mass media remind us that we become protagonists of what we transmit. We must take this message on board”. The programme for the Day also includes “a collection to raise the necessary funds for a responsible and professional use” of those media “widely used by the Church to communicate the Good News”. According to Genoud, “proclaiming the Gospel today is a radical commitment of faith”, and “talking of Christ in the course of broadcasts sometimes critical towards the Church forms part of her daily challenges”. His judgment of the internet is also positive: useful – he says – “to complete the Church’s presence in the media”. “The world of communication is exciting”, and the Church, he concludes, must “dare to risk the marketplace, ‘the market of sounds and images'”, and so “reach out to each person without distinction”. A new consciousness. “The media are more inclined to war than peace, so ‘media for peace’ means swimming against the tide”: that’s how Bishop Henrici comments on the slogan for the Sunday of the media which “is aimed this year at raising awareness about the potential of the means of communication” and reflecting how “the Church’s use of the media may serve peace”. “In German-speaking Switzerland where the Church has limited access to the public media – he continues –, the critical consciousness of editors must be reinforced and alternative media (such as parish magazines) supported. The KIPA press agency and the Catholic Media Service (KM) are especially dedicated to these objectives”. Catholic daily and diocesan website. Bishop Torti of Lugano in Italian-speaking Switzerland places the main emphasis on the Catholic daily, the Giornale del Popolo, which, in spite of “crises and difficulties”, continues to be an indispensable “medium for the critical interpretation of reality in the light of the Gospel”. The bishop does not disguise the “problems linked to collaboration with the general press”. As for the new media, “the diocese is trying to adapt”. For example, the diocesan website is much visited abroad; it’s “an exceptional opportunity – he says – to keep people informed about the life of the community, the teaching of the bishops, and various activities”. The bishop hopes “it may be further developed” in spite of the “shortage of personnel and financial resources”.