New challenges for catholic media. A Message from Pope Francis to Members of the Catholic Press Association

Abstract

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual conference of the Catho-lic Press Association of the United States and Canada was held for the first time virtually, from June 30 to July 2, 2020. The Association was founded in Columbus (Ohio) in 1911. For over a hundred years, it has been disseminating news about the Church and its works and counteracts the negative influence of the secular press that distorts or contorts this image. Pope Francis sent the members of the Catholic Press Association his letter, in which he made many important comments about the goals and tasks of Catholic media. Referring to the keynote of this year’s conference: „Together While Apart”, the Pope emphasized that paradoxically the sense of community between people emerged from the experience of social distance imposed by the pandemic. In his opinion, Catholic media should be „capable of building bridges, defending life and breaking down the walls, visible and invisible, that prevent sincere dialogue and truthful communication between individuals and communities”. Later in the letter, the Pope emphasized that „we need media that can help people, especially the young, to distinguish good from evil, to develop sound judgments based on a clear and unbiased presentation of the facts, and to understand the importance of working for justice, social concord and respect for our common home”. The Holy Father also appealed for honesty of opinion and communication of facts. „Where our world all too readily speaks with adjectives and adverbs, may Christian communicators speak with nouns that acknowledge and advance the quiet claims of truth and promote human dignity”.