This article comes from the CCEE website.
-------------------------------------------------------
Spokespersons: a service to the Truth
Concluded the yearly meeting of the spokespersons of European Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, on the topic: Communication in times of crisis (16-19 June 2010), Slovak Republic, Bratislav-Nitra.
Also in times of crisis, such as these ones, so painful for the Church, especially for some Bishops’ Conferences of Western Europe, caused by the abuses on minors by the hand of priests or religious, the primary task of the spokesperson of a Catholic Bishops’ Conference is his or her service to the Truth. Spokespersons, in fact, often have to pit themselves against the slowness of the in-depth analysis of the case and, on the other hand, against the speed required by the information industry, which does not accept any delay. This has been especially clear in the way information concerning the cases of abuse have been managed. On this aspect, we heard the contribution of the spokespersons of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ireland and Germany, who have presented their professional experience, especially in relation to the demand for information which came – and is still coming on an ongoing basis – from national and international media. The Letter to the Irish Catholic faithful was for both of them fundamental to carry out their professional task. The Catholic Church sees in this pontifical document a complete and accurate response to the open questions which emerged in this matter. In the Letter, the Church condemns without hesitation those misdemeanours and feels compassion vis-à-vis the victims of this violence. In this letter, we can clearly perceive that the Church stands on the victims’ side.
In their reflection, the participants have been helped by Mgr. Prof. José María La Porte, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Institutional Communications of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, who has spoken on the topic: Communication in times of crisis, in particular on the first steps to be taken in a moment when the Church is called to give exhaustive, reasonable and immediate responses.
In their reflection, the participants have been helped by Mgr. Prof. José María La Porte, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Institutional Communications of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, who has spoken on the topic: Communication in times of crisis, in particular on the first steps to be taken in a moment when the Church is called to give exhaustive, reasonable and immediate responses.
Norm of a Christian style of communication is the use of media as tools at the service of the truth and the respect of every person’s dignity, more than the pursuit of a persuasive and effective style of communication. The will to inform transparently and offer, at the same time, accurate and well-documented pieces of information on the thought and the many initiatives of the Church is the first step to help the public opinion to make up an objective judgement on the life of the Church.
Then the spokespersons have reflected on public opinion building processes, with the help of Rev. Prof. Tadeusz Zasepa, PhD, Rector of the Catholic University of Ružomberok (Slovak Republic). There isn’t one single public opinion; the latter is the result of many interpretations, fruits of perceptions in which the conscience and the values of everyone play a fundamental role. In this perspective, it is necessary that those having the task to “communicate the Church” be able to give all the indispensable elements for a judgement that should be as responsible as possible.
In the light of these discussions, our works have then focused on the modes and the tools which might be helpful in view of improving and coordinating the communication activities of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, also thanks to the contribution of Paolo Bustaffa, director of SirEuropa.
In opening the meeting, promoted by the Council of European Catholic Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), which took place at Bratislav following an invitation by H. Ex. Mgr. Stanislav Zvolenský, Archbishop of Bratislav and President of the Slovak Catholic Bishops’ Conference, we heard a presentation of the Catholic Church in that country, according to the ecclesiastical organization as defined by the Apostolic Constitution promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI in February 2008. The President of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference has emphasised that, in his country, despite the significant decrease of vocations in the last few years, the number of priests is constantly growing. Relations with the State are generally good, notwithstanding the fact that two points of the Basic Agreement signed in the Year 2000 by the Holy See and the Slovak Republic (the financial support of the Church and the restitution of the ecclesiastical properties which had been seized to the Church during the time of the totalitarian regime) have not yet found a solution. Mgr. Marian Gavenda, former spokesperson of the Slovak Catholic Bishops’ Conference, has given a description of the evolution of Catholic media since their forced closing, in 1948, until the present day. After the limited and underground activity of the times of the communist regime, recovered freedom (1988) has paved the way to a renaissance and renewal of Catholic media. Since the Year 2000, the Slovak Bishops’ Conference has been committed in the professional training of those who want to work in this field.
Our meeting has also seen the intervention of Mr. Jan Figel, former European Commissioner, who has shared to the participants his vision of Europe, which should be a mosaic of distinguished nations, but also linked to each other, in a search for unity in diversity. For the future of Europe it is important to reflect on the role of religions and religious communities, especially as far as their role vis-à-vis education is concerned. During the meeting, the participants have also been informed about the activities carried out by COMECE and about the creation of the Observatory on intolerance and discrimination vis-à-vis the Christian faithful in Europe (www.IntoleranceAgainstChristians.eu) with whom CCEE has begun a collaboration.
Also Mgr. Giuseppe Antonio Scotti, Additional Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (PCCS), has given his contribution to the meeting. He reported on the activities of PCCS and of the Vatican Publishing House (Libreria Editrice Vaticana - LEV) which is working on the edition of the Italian version of the Opera Omnia by Joseph Ratzinger, which is going to be printed soon (July 2010).
The Council of European Catholic Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) includes, as members, the 33 Catholic Bishops’ Conferences which are presently in existence in Europe, represented ex officio by their Presidents, the Archbishops of Luxemburg, the Principality of Monaco, Cyprus of the Maronites and the Bishop of Chişinău (Moldova). It is presided by Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Primate of Hungry; its Vice-Presidents are Cardinal Josip Bozanić, Archbishop of Zagreb, and Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux. The Secretary General of CCEE is Fr. Duarte da Cunha. The headoffice of the Secretariat is at St. Gallen (Switzerland)
