Pope talks about television

Do the media do enough to promote positive values? Are Christians using the media wisely? Is the burgeoning of cable channels and satellite dishes a good thing?

Pope John Paul II offered his opinions on those questions in his message for the 1997 World Day of Communications, celebrated throughout the Church on May 11.

Every year, I like to take his message and transform it into a question-and-answer session for readers to reflect and act on. Here are his thoughts for 1997:

Q. Your Holiness, many people now have access to scores of cable channels and thousands of videos. Their media options have exploded. Is that a good thing?

Pope: We see an unprecedented expansion of the means of social communications, with ever new products and services. The greater the choice, the harder it may be to choose responsibly. It is increasingly difficult to protect one's eyes and ears from images and sounds which arrive through the media unexpectedly and uninvited. It is particularly hard for parents to guard their children from unwholesome messages and to ensure that their education in human relations and their learning about the world comes about in a way that is appropriate to their age and sensibility, and to their developing sense of right and wrong.

Q. Are Christians doing enough to counteract those "unwholesome messages"?

Pope: Public opinion has been shocked at how easily the advanced communication technologies can be exploited by those whose intentions are evil. At the same time, can we not observe a relative slowness on the part of those who wish to do good to use the same opportunities? Media products...supposedly present Christian values. The truth of the matter may well be that the foremost value they genuinely represent is commercial profit.

Q. Some people point to shows like "Touched by an Angel" and say that positive programming can be found. What do you think?

Pope: The proportion of media programs which deal with religious and spiritual aspirations, programs which are morally uplifting and help people to live better lives, is apparently decreasing. It is not easy to remain optimistic about the positive influence of the mass media when they appear either to ignore the vital role of religion in people's lives or when the treatment that religious belief receives seems consistently negative and unsympathetic. Some elements of the media -- especially in the entertainment sectors -- often seem to wish to portray religious believers in the worst possible light. Is there still a place for Christ in the traditional mass media? May we claim a place for Him in the new media?

Q. Do you have any suggestions for how Christians could counteract those negative images?

Pope: With due respect for the communications activities of the individual churches and ecclesial communities, it would be a significant ecumenical achievement if Christians could cooperate more closely with one another in the media as they prepare to celebrate the forthcoming Great Jubilee [in 2000]. The 2,000 years which have passed since the birth of Christ represent an extraordinary commemoration for humanity as a whole, given the prominent role played by Christianity during these two millennia. It is surely appropriate that the mass media should pay tribute to that contribution.

Q. What should the media do in that regard?

Pope: Perhaps one of the finest gifts which we could offer to Jesus Christ on the 2,000th anniversary of His birth would be that the good news will at last be made known to every person in the world -- first of all through the living witness of Christian example, but also through the media.

(05-08-97)

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