September 21, 2010. The Vatican has invited hundreds of journalists from the five continents to Rome in early October for a congress on Catholic media in the digital society.
Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli
President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
"We feel the need to come together at a global level to reflect on the mission, on the function the Catholic press plays in today's society and in the Church".
With this conference, the president of the Pontifical Council, which advises the Pope on media, will analyze how the digital revolution is changing society.
Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli
President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
"The main question is not so much how to use the new technologies; rather, the great challenge the Church has to face today is how to establish a dialogue with the culture that is emerging from the new technologies"
One of the cultural changes to be addressed will be the crisis in traditional media. Archbishop Celli notes that fewer and fewer people read print newspapers and increasingly consult the Internet.
Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli
President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
"We will begin our congress by inviting the editors of three large daily newspapers and putting the fundamental question to them: what future does the press have?”
As for the Catholic media, Archbishop Celli believes that what matters is not technology but content. The important thing is how much TV, radio or newspaper help people to be better persons.
Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli
President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
"The problem is not whether I have or don't have the technology, but how capable I am of establishing a respectful dialogue; a dialogue that respects the truth of others, ready to bear witness to the values in which we believe".
Participants will be communicators associated with episcopal conferences. The organizers are encouraged at the level of interest: bishops from 62 countries have confirmed they will send representatives to the conference, to be held from 4 to 7 October in the Vatican.
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