At the service of unity” “

“Satisfying through the means of communication the media needs of the local Churches and promoting, through exchange, greater mutual understanding and unity among Christians, in particular between Catholics and Orthodox”. This, as is explained on the website www.crtn.org, is the objective of the Catholic Radio andTelevision Network (CRTN), founded in 1987 and specialized in the production and distribution of religious programmes by radio, television and internet. With the support of the association “Aid for the Suffering Church” and SIGNIS, the world Catholic association for communication founded in 2001 from the amalgamation between two organizations, UNDA (International Catholic Association for Radio and Television) and OCIC (International Catholic Organization for Cinema), the CRTN has in recent years launched a series of joint ventures with broadcasters in Russia, Lithuania and Ukraine. We present a review of its most recent productions and projects. COANIQUEM: THE MEANING OF SUFFERING. Each year in Chile 100,000 children are the victims of serious burns, caused by poverty, antiquated heating systems and accidents with fire while preparing food; of these some 10,000 suffer serious physical and psychological injuries, such as to require a complex programme of rehabilitation and surgical reconstruction. “Coaniquem” is the name of the hospital founded by the Catholic Church in a poor suburb of Santiago. It has rapidly become famous for the medical treatment and spiritual assistance it offers to these children. In 2003 it began a continental programme for children with burn injuries from Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay and Paraguay. A 10-minute documentary, produced by CRNT, has been dedicated to this hospital, considered a model for the whole of Latin America. WHOM HAVE YOU COME TO SEEK? Five directors, who mingled with the millions of faithful who prayed for John Paul II in his last hours of life and at his funeral, have prepared a documentary on these events, produced by the Italian production company Lux Vide. Gabriele Muccino, Luciano Manuzzi, Massimo Costa, Giulio Base and Umberto Marino gave their video a title taken from the words addressed by John Paul II to the youth who thronged Tor Vergata (Rome) for World Youth Day in 2000; words recalled by Msgr. Angelo Comastri on the eve of the Pope’s death. 25 YEARS WITH JOHN PAUL II. Since 1968 university students from all over the world have participated in a meeting with the Pope during Holy Week. This video, produced by Antonio Tormo for Beta Films, is edited from a number of unpublished short films and has a running time of 25 minutes. Its star is John Paul II in dialogue with students, always good humoured and ready to joke and exchange wisecracks. HOLY PLACES. Jesus named him as his own representative on earth, telling him: “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church”. In 319 AD the Roman emperor Constantine erected the first St. Peter’s basilica on the place of burial of the head of the apostles. In 1506 Pope Julius II decided to replace the dilapidated building over a thousand years old with a new basilica that took 120 years to complete (in 1626), thanks to the work of the greatest artists of the period: Bramante, Michelangelo, Sangallo, Raphael, Maderno and Bernini. The history of the basilica is told in “Holy Places”, a documentary that starts out from the present day and traces the events that have characterized what is considered the heart of Christianity. The video, produced by Wolfgang Plehn for Provobis, is enriched with the testimonies of cardinals, men of culture and Catholics of many nations. “IGNATIUS PRIZE” . A prize of 2,500 euros for the best short film on the theme “The City of God” will be awarded in Cologne during WYD on 19 August. The Jesuits of Europe have invited young film directors (below the age of 35) from all over the world to enter this competition, named after St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, and promised them the greatest freedom in the interpretation of the theme. “Spiritual desires and experiences of youth today; presence and absence of God in the secularised world; relation between faith and justice”: these are just some of the themes indicated by way of example by the organizers. Apart from the first prize, awards of respectively 1,500 and 1,000 euros are planned for the films classified in second and third place. The winning films will be shown during WYD. The prizes will be awarded to the winning directors by a representative of the Society of Jesus.