The World of Media and the Church’s Response - 2004 (BJMM024)
The World of Media and the Church’s Response (2004)
Man’s genius has with
God’s help produced marvellous technical inventions from creation, especially
in our times. The Church, our mother, is particularly interested in those which
directly touch man’s spirit and which have opened up new avenues of easy
communication of all kinds of news, of ideas and orientations. Chief among them
are those means of communication which of their nature can reach and influence
not merely single individuals but the very masses and even the whole of human
society. These are the press, the cinema, radio, television and others of like
nature. These can rightly be called “The means of social communication.” (n. 1)
Media Today
All over the world different modes of
communication media are changing the lifestyle and attitudes of the people. Our
own country is not different.
Media Influence
Within
modern society the communications media play a major role in information,
cultural promotion and formation. This role is increasing, as a result of
technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news transmitted, and
the influence exercised on public opinion. (CCC, 2493)
Media bring
information, education and entertainment and they also create public opinion.
But they also have negative influences.
ü The life style of the people is changing, along with their habits,
behavior and values. They are often contrary to the Gospel and our own value
system.
ü There is a shift in value system
ü An increase in violence and family problems can sometimes be traced
to the influence of the media
ü Children are playing less and watching the TV more
ü Family life and values are affected
ü Traditional art forms are losing popularity.
The strength of the Church?
The Church has been, over
the years, consistently using the media of the times very effectively. Jesus’
own parables, dramatic stories and poems, apologetics and logic of St. Paul,
rhetoric and oratory of the early fathers, the powerful writings including the
Bible, music, architecture, great paintings, mystery and miracle plays of the
Middle Ages, visual presentations of St. Francis are all a few of the numerous
examples of Catholic Church of the various ages effectively using the popular
media of the times to fulfil the missionary mandate.
Modern technological developments made today’s media revolution
possible. The desire to reach the grass roots (for commercial purposes for the
popular media) accelerated the revolution. These possibilities are a great boon
to the Church in relation to its mission.
The Church, wherever and whenever it wants to communicate to the
ordinary man and woman, uses the language of the common man, not Sanskrit but
vernacular. What is today’s vernacular?
We had a Pope who had caught the spirit of this wonderful
possibility of the media”. Look at the “World Youth Day”, see the variety of
initiatives, the respect he secures from the media world, he had helped the
young Catholics hold their head high amidst the challenges of the media. No
wonder John Paul II’s funeral was a media hit of all times.
Catholic media work is not simply one more
programme alongside all the rest of the Church’s activities: social
communications have a role to play in very aspect of the Church’s mission.
Thus, not only should there be a pastoral plan for communications, but
communications should be an integral part of every pastoral plan, for it has
something to contribute to virtually every other apostolate, ministry, and
programme. (Aetatis Novae, 17)
What are some of the characteristics of this media driven
world?
Clarity of goal: ‘Media for what?’
The business world has very clear goals, to push the brand and make money.
Often the media professionals in the Church forget their goal, to make Jesus
known and build a culture and society based on the Gospel. “Church should be for Evangelization and all its
energy should be spent for it.” What the Church need is a communication
strategy with a clear sense of vision and mission. Find people with missionary
zeal and they in turn will find most relevant media to communicate the 
message.
Direct experience: Here is a generation away from abstraction
and philosophy and yearning for intuitive and hand on experience – inability of
the clergy to deliver goods in this area – Jesus to be introduced directly.
Often People ask for for simple Bible study aids, and complain that what is
already there “is tooooo complex to understand. Written in the most complex way
that only theologians will understand. Typical of the catholic priests :)”
Teamwork: In
today’s world any creation is an effort of many, a complex process of experts
in one’s own field collaborating in humility. The present-day styles include
active listening, consultation, collaboration and participation. Sometimes the
leaders in the Church are distressingly independent, unwilling to continue from
where others have stopped and averse to sharing wider platforms of
collaboration. The negative competition in the Church is the greatest threat
for it to be relevant. Do I have collaborating teams and consulting groups?
A changing mindset: The present-day media is a response to and at the same time an
outcome of certain psychological make up and lifestyle indicators of this age
- All pervasive boredom and yearning for variety
- Personal independence and need for direct experience
- Time conscious and packing up things in limited time
- Technological awareness and thirst information
- Simplicity in a world of complexity and affluence
- Respect for quality and professionalism
- Informality yearning for unity and close communication
It is good to ask if my communication
styles respond to these changing mindset and lifestyle indicators.
Multimedia: Living in complex
culture the modern men and women require a multi-pronged approach. With a
shorter attention span and multifarious pursuits, especially in the case of
youth, a talk may have to be complemented by a buzz session, a written work to
follow a video or a personal experience to follow a theoretical presentation.
This is the style of media, and this has become the ‘how’ of communication
today.
Social communications tend to multiply
contacts within society and to deepen social consciousness. As a result the
individual is bound more closely to his fellow men and can play his part in the
unfolding of history as if led by the hand of God. In the Christian faith, the
unity and brotherhood of man are the chief aims of all communication and these
find their source and model in the central mystery of the eternal communion
between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who live a single divine life. (Communio et Progressio, 8)
Specific steps
What frightens off many to launch deeply
into the use of media is the money factor, that it may involve a fortune to do
anything in the field. Not that the Church in general doesn’t have any funds to
address the issue, but to use relevant media what is needed is not money but a
change of policy and working styles.
Involving lay people especially artists and media
professionals
There is growing
number of media people and artists in any area of Kerala. But their involvement
in their dioceses is extremely poor. The media planners in our dioceses (if
there are any) keep not only the laity away but even other priests and
religious who may be able to contribute. There is also the lack of continuity
in our media efforts; it changes as the people who head it change. To quote
someone: “For the laity in the
church it is a situation without anything to do.” “There are plenty of media
professionals who love the Church, encourage them.”
o
Find opportunities for
interaction with activists and experts in different fields. Organize
consultations. Create platforms for lay professionals to come together and
collaborate with the Church.
o
Bring together the artists – Conference
cum retreats organized by Jesus Youth is a model
o
Catholic orientation should be
a key goal. Initiate study groups on scripture and Church documents – instead
of bringing in experts from outside encouraging them to prepare and present has
been found fruitful.
Integrating the different media into the various
ministries
o
Dramatic clubs and dance
training sessions can be best forums for Catholic formation. They are already
widely used in parishes as entertainment, but a diocesan coordination body
should see to it that skits and their preparation should be vehicles of faith
formation.
o
Catechetic department is area
of much media use. Skit enacted for youth and children before the Sunday mass,
use of short Christian videos in classes, poster exhibitions.
o
Lending library, parish
catechetical media library. With the advent of CDs it is very easy
o
An agency to promote catholic
magazines of a variety of content. ‘press watch’.
o
People already watch plenty of
films. Have an official or voluntary ‘cinema watch’ publishing and promoting
good secular films. Organizing a film festival is not expensive.
o
Making management and media
related expertise available to coordinating bodies of pious organizations,
diocesan departments and institutions to have clarity of vision, prepare
mission statements, brochures, clear documentation and media presentations will
make then face the present-day world with confidence and make the diocese more
growth oriented.
Catechetical formation is to be given by
employing all those aids, educational resources and means of social
communication which seem the more effective in securing that the faithful,
according to their character, capability, age and circumstances of life may be
more fully steeped in catholic teaching and prepared to put it into practice. (Cannon 779)
Media Education a must
“Bishops and priests should see films,”
someone remarked. “Then only they will become aware of its power and influence.
They will then be able to tell people how it should be viewed.” The
fundamentals of media education should be given to priests and religious.
Seminaries and religious formation houses should take time for media in their
curriculum. If the leadership of the BCCs, the pious organizations and various
movements in the Church realize the urgency of guiding our people in knowing
how the media works and how to make choices this can initiate a big wave of
renewal in the Church.
o
Catholic schools and other
education centers could easily organized courses on media and values.
o
The Family Apostolate,
especially its successful Marriage Preparation Course could incorporate a
section on the media.
In using the means of social
communication, a necessary discretion is to be observed. Members are to avoid
whatever is harmful to their vocation and dangerous to the chastity of a
consecrated person. (Cannon 666)
Media
planning for tomorrow
There were a
number of other requests or suggestions from these ordinary lay people. Many
people ask for big media ventures from the Church like TV stations, Newspapers,
good websites and web-based religious services. There were repeated requests
for TV or programs based on the life of saints and Catholic teachings: “TV that gives them information and awareness
about the Church, its traditions with teachings that help them in daily
life and news from the point of view of the Church. People have lots of
misunderstandings about the Church which mainly come from the portrayal in the
media, and a TV channel that can act as a voice of the Church can clear those
misunderstandings and bring people closer to the Church.” EWTN in the west has
done much in this line. FM radio is also becoming popular, and something should
be done in that line also.
Revamping the age-old communication strategies of the Church in the
light of recent developments of the media is important. Some dioceses have
already taken steps to digitalize the parish records and diocesan archives.
Approach of the Sunday homilies, the styles of meetings of BCCs and parish
councils, working of different organizations in the diocese, etc. could find a
new breath of life through reflections in the light of the new Medias.
o
The growing number of TV
channels and radio stations are starving for good programs. More than a new
channel what is feasible is making available quality programs with Christian
content to these channels. Various bodies of the Church can make attempts in
this line.
o
Don’t limit to one media. In
this age of multimedia complement talks with paperwork, films with leaflets,
catechism books with video clippings or poster exhibitions
o
Our educated people as well as
educational institutions can help the church leadership in quality media
productions for internal consumption like documentation and faith formation and
PRO job among the general public.
Conclusion
Those who have closely known the media when
they talk of greater media involvement by the Church visualize a Church that
will speak in the language of the present day. This new language presumes a new lifestyle of greater sense of mission today and closer collaboration of
different sections of the Body of Christ, because ‘out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaks’. This means, as one of my respondents put it, a “Church
with fellowship that can withstand all hurdles.” Whether we like it or not we
are in the grip of the powerful media world. Either we confront and conquer it
or we will be conquered by this all-engrossing reality. The exhortation in Inter Mirifica is indeed mad in this spirit,
“All the members of the Church should make a concerted effort to ensure
that the means of communication are put at the service of the multiple forms of
apostolate without delay and as energetically as possible where and when they
are needed” (n.13). May we take up
a very active role in the fast-growing communication domain of this new era and
may our leadership in fighting and conquering this fast-emerging bastions and
principalities of negativity usher in Christ’s Kingdom in our families and
communities in a deeper way.
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