The two thousand antennae

CREATING A NETWORK. “Defining what is meant by being Catholic in television, and establishing a Catholic television network that will serve as a vehicle for the evangelising movement are the objectives of the World Congress of Catholic Television”, due to take place in Madrid, from 10 to 13 October. The event, for which organizers expect the participation of TV stations from 48 countries (there are now some 2,000 Catholic TV stations throughout the world), is the brainchild of the Pontifical Council of Social Communications, following a series of regional meetings with Latin-American and European television stations. “Reflecting on the nature of the television phenomenon, studying the opportunities it offers to the Church” and “creating a new network of cooperation”: these are the objectives of the Congress, according to Monsignor JOHN P. FOLEY , President of the Pontifical Council of Social Communications. “Our responsibility – emphasises Mons. Foley – is to facilitate the work of communication in the Church and in society”. It is therefore important to reflect on the identity of Catholic television and on how small and less well-funded broadcasters could be given particular support. “We need – explains Foley – to create a new network of cooperation”, by working on “very practical problems, such as the economic and administrative aspects of the television industry, the professional skills of its staff, the quality and variety of formats and the quality of information”. RELIABLE INFORMATION. Among the initiatives to be launched in Madrid, says LETICIA SOBERÓN , member of the organizing committee, is a “Bank of programmes that will facilitate the free exchange of TV programmes between the various institutions. This project was born from the concern of the bigger television channels for the smaller and poorer ones”. In general, Catholic television stations have the task, says Sauberón, of “ensuring reliable information, faithful to the message and services that the Church offers to society, in short the task of presenting the true life of the Church”. It would also be desirable if “the quality of Catholic television were to act as a stimulus for other television channels to promote a humanization and a raising of the standards of the television message, in the various types of programming, from that of entertainment to that for children”. “Catholic television stations – adds Soberón – express respect for people, so it would be positive if they were to constitute for the other media an example of professionalism and creativity in the values they transmit and the contents they propose”. In many cases “that’s already happening”: “There are Catholic TV stations that are opinion leaders in the sector because they offer honest debates with objective exchanges of opinions that permit people to gain an idea of what is happening”. Television may play a decisive role either in facilitating or in obstructing the dialogue between cultures and religions. “In general – observes Soberón – the media do want to be truthful, but that may depend on the objectives they want to achieve with a particular service: whether they want to be faithful to the truth, or boost sales, as in the case of newspapers, or increase audience share, as in television. At the end of the day it’s a question of professional ethics, of discernment and of conscience”. AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION. According to the Director of the Vatican Press Room, Father FEDERICO LOMBARDI , who is also director of the Vatican Television Centre and Vatican Radio, and one of the speakers at the World Congress of Catholic TV, the Church, through its media, always wishes “to place communication at the service of communion, in other words mutual understanding, dialogue and peace”. The Congress in Madrid will provide an occasion, according to Father Lombardi, “for mutual aid to be able to perform more effectively our evangelical and human service”. The World Congress of Catholic TV will be, in the judgement of Father JOSÈ MARIA GIL , executive secretary of the Commission of the means of social communication of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, “the point of departure for a coordinated and joint work of Catholic television operators that will prove fruitful for the evangelising mission of the Church, with the guidance of the Holy See”. There will be some 300 delegates at the Congress, from some fifty different countries, especially from Latin America, “to gain awareness of the Catholic identity common to all audiovisual initiatives”, says Father Gil. For further information: www.worldcongresstv.com Fact File In Europe, according to data reported by the Catholic Radio and Television Network (www.crtn.org), there are 22 European countries in which Catholic television channels are present, for a total of 58: Austria (2), Belarus (1), Belgium (2), Bulgaria (1), Croatia (1), Cyprus (1), France (2), Germany (17), Ireland (1), Italy (4), Lithuania (1), Norway (2), Holland (2), Poland (2), Portugal (2), United Kingdom (2), Czech Republic (2), Romania (3), Russia (2), Spain (4), Switzerland (2), and Hungary (2).