Kościół o telewizji

Abstract

First comments made by popes were cautionary in nature and regarded the new means of mass communication with a dose of distrust. Records of popes and Roman Dicastery from 1878 to 1963 reflect careful and growing interest of the Holy See in the participation of Catholics in the world of media through Catholic press as well as through responsible and creative presence of genuine Christian and humanistic values in journalist work. The media are clearly linked to the world, which God created for man. The truth of the central place of a human being in God's plan, enhanced as early as in the account of creation, needs special recollection here. Thus, man is given part in the proper handling of the whole creation, which makes his journey to meet God - whose image and resemblance he bears - so much easier. It is in this theological context that the Second Vatican Council considered the media, engaging in a dialogue with the contemporary world. The teaching of the Second Vatican Council became an important impulse in the ecclesiastical social instruction on the media. Realisation of pertinent Council postulates resulted in a number of substantial initiatives and accomplishments in this field. John Paul II is the first pope who consciously creates the so called media facts. Positive attitude of the Church to television as the biggest means of communication can be seen in the fact that the Holy See is the only institution in the world which uses all equatorial satellites three times a year to provide 800 TV stations and almost eight billion viewers with transmissions from the Vatican. According to the ecclesiastical teaching the mos.t important aims of mass communication is the building of unity and progress for the human family. Although television generates new needs, it also creates a new language, which helps people learn more about one another and get closer. One must not forget, however, that it should respect integral development of a person, including cultural, transcendental and religious dimension of man and society.