A difficult task

Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv hosted an international conference "Church in the Information Society" on 4-5 May, with attendance of 150 journalists representing religious and secular media, students, priests and representatives of Church press services from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.Professional level of journalism. "This is the second time we organized this event. Last year, the conference was held in Odesa with the partnership support of various Christian Churches and organizations. This year, the conference was also interdenominational and the main emphasis was put on professional training. There is no longer a need to convince journalists working in the Church mass media that their work is useful, but one should draw their attention to the professional level", said one of the organizers of the conference, director of the Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU), Taras Antoshevskyi. The event began with a prayer and a brief introductory address by deputy bishop of the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith, Mykola Syniuk. As he said, "we live in a complicated time. Therefore, the representatives of Christian mass media should not simply repulse attacks against their communities and Churches but be aggressive in a good sense, in order to tell people the truth". Experience of God-given freedom. The event was organized by the RISU with the support of the Master Degree Program in Journalism of UCU, Institute of Ecumenical Studies of UCU; Mainstream Communication & Consulting, Pro.mova expert company; magazine Credo; Institute for Religious Freedom; Odesa People’s Church; Ukraine Without Orphans Alliance; Missioner Publishers; Rafail Pilgrimage Center; Arche Book Shop; and Charity Herald magazine. "For me this meeting is not only an opportunity to share technical approaches and to formulate tactics and strategy. Even though these approaches are extremely important as they condition the most profound understanding of the level of the conference. This meeting, primarily, is an opportunity to support the authentic experience of the God-given freedom, with hope that this freedom will develop into professional and objective broadcasting of joy and peace in Ukraine and outside it", said Borys Gudziak, rector of Ukrainian Catholic University.Partnership between Churches and media. Church and media should develop abilities and patience and become responsible partners. This opinion was expressed by vice-rector of UCU, Myroslav Marynovych, in his address during the conference. "It is not easy for the Church to live in the modern discourse. Whole history and tradition often urges the Church to be over the society and not beside it. Obviously, it is wrong and it should be changed, as this process is not harmonious and is often painful. This task is difficult not only for the Church itself but also for the media", said Marynovych, noting that year by year the quality of religious journalism improves: "Thank God, we have already passed the stage in which – in early nineties – a newspaper report read "Jewish" ordination instead of "priestly ordination". Today, the professionalism has improved but it is not enough. One also needs the sense of partnership. In my opinion, one of the manifestations of this partnership is that the media and Churches together should become heralds and preachers of values". In conclusion Myroslav Marynovych stressed that "values are not only the Church’s business, they are also included in the sphere of media, because they themselves suffer from lack of the values in the society. Therefore, I wish both sides a sincere and responsible partnership".