Communicating to serve

The annual meeting of spokespersons and press officers of the European Bishops’ Conferences was held at Maynooth (Dublin, Ireland) from 20 to 23 July. Now a fixed annual event on the agenda of the Ccee press office, it was an opportunity to review the initiatives of European Churches in the field of communication. Coordinated by Thierry Bonaventura, Ccee press officer, the meeting opened with interventions by the Irish bishops Séan Brady (President of the Irish Bishops’ Conference) and Joseph Duffy (chairman of the Bishops’ Commission for the Media); they presented the situation and prospects of the Irish Church and its system of communication through the office directed by Martin Long. Monsignor Noel Treanor, general secretary of Comece, Peter Fleetwood, assistant secretary of the Ccee and Bishop Peter Henrici, chairman of the Ccee Commission for the media, also participated in the meeting. A COMMON CONSCIOUSNESS . In presenting the national pastoral initiatives carried out or planned since the meeting in Warsaw last June, the delegates underlined the importance of an ever-more reliable, understandable and punctual communication by the Church, with the aim of offering, with the necessary thoroughness, the teaching of the Church and the thought of Catholics on the great issues of our time. This is a service that demands skills and sensibilities that need to be constantly updated. There were two main questions on the order of the day this year: Islam and freedom of information; scientific research and respect for human life. As regards the first point, also in the light of the polemics of recent months over the satirical cartoons of Mohamed, the participants at the Dublin meeting were unanimous in supporting a respectful language and well-documented information. For example, knowledge of Islam and the need to give to Muslims themselves sound information on the thought of the Catholic Church are held to be indispensable to overcome mutual fears, suspicions and ignorance. The participants therefore called for real reciprocity also in the field of communication to foster dialogue and understanding of diversities, though without detriment to the right and duty to inform. As regards the case of the “Da Vinci Code”, again tackled in the context of freedom of information, most delegates saw here an opportunity to enable the public to get to know the passages of the Gospel travestied by Brown. As regards the debate on bioethical questions, in particular research on stem cells procured from human embryos, the participants confirmed the line of defence and promotion of the value of life, while seeking dialogue with “secular culture”. In this regard, Msgr. Claudio Giuliodori, director of the Social Communications Office of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, described the experience of Church-run and Catholic media in Italy which in 2005 successfully contributed to stopping a referendum on a law that would have placed in grave jeopardy human life in its initial stages. COMMITMENT TO RECONCILIATION . The theme of reconciliation was analysed by Tommie Gorman, director of the Northern Ireland television network, with an historical account of the sufferings caused by the country’s social and political divisions. He also touched on grave misdemeanours such as sexual deviations within the Church itself: a painful experience which has now been tackled with determination and should now become a warning to others. The theme of reconciliation was also posed in the presentation of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly to be held in Sibiu in Romania, from 4 to 9 September 2007, on the theme “The light of Christ shines upon all”. Preparations for it are underway at the European and national level with many initiatives in response to the appeal for Christian unity that Benedict XVI made at the beginning of his pontificate. COMECE AND SIREUROPE . After the presentation of the national activities in the field of communication, the wider European system of communication was discussed. Johanna Touzel, the new press officer of COMECE (Commission of the episcopates of the European Community), described the many initiatives of the organization, including a European meeting (23-24 March 2007) to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. In preparation for the event that the Heads of State will celebrate in Berlin, a seminar will be held at Clermont Ferrand (France) from 8 to 11 October, with the participation also of youth delegates. Paolo Bustaffa, director of the SIR press agency that publishes SirEurope , then presented the “philosophy” of this news service realized in cooperation with CCEE, and described developments since last year’s meeting in Warsaw: a European daily service also in English; a network of correspondents in Europe; training courses with European journalists; multilingual secretariat; and collaboration between ten or so Catholic press agencies, agreed at a recent meeting in Vienna. Lastly, Hans Geybels from Belgium presented a website especially dedicated to the faith of children: an initiative that awaits contributions of ideas and experiences from other European Bishops’ Conferences.