Technological advances in the media have in certain respects conquered time and space, making communication between people even when separated by vast distances, both instantaneous and direct. This development presents an enormous potential for service of the common good and “constitutes a patrimony to safeguard and promote” (Rapid Development, 10).
To inform the consciences of individuals and help shape their thinking is never a neutral task. Authentic communication demands principled courage and resolve. It requires a determination of those working in the media not to wilt under the weight of so much information nor even to be content with partial or provisional truths. Instead, it necessitates both seeking and transmitting what is the ultimate foundation and meaning of human, personal and social existence (cf. Fides et Ratio, 5).
The call for today’s media to be responsible – to be the protagonist of truth and promoter of the peace that ensues – carries with the number of challenges. While the various instruments of social communication facilitate the exchange of information, ideas, and mutual understanding among groups, they are also tainted by ambiguity. Alongside the provision of a “great round table” for dialogue, certain tendencies within the media engender a kind of monoculture that dims creative genius, deflates the subtlety of complex thought and under values the specificity of cultural practices and the particularity of religious belief. These are distortions that occur when the media industry becomes self-serving or solely profit-driven, losing the sense of accountability to the common good.
Accurate reporting of events, funny explanation of matters of public concern, and fair representation of points of view must, then, always be fostered. The need to uphold and support marriage and family life is of particular importance, precisely because it pertains to the foundation of every culture and society (cf. Apostolicam Actousitatem 11). In cooperation with parents, the social communications and entertainment industries can assist in the difficult but sublimely satisfying vocation of bringing up children, through edifying models of human life and love (cf. Inter Mirifica 11). How disheartening and destructive it is to us all when the opposite occurs. Do not our hearts cry out, most especially, when our young people are subjected to debased or false expressions of love which ridicule the God-given dignity of every human person and undermine family interests?
To encourage both a constructive presence and a positive perception of the media in society, I wish to reiterate the importance of three steps, identified by venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II, necessary for the service of the common good: formation, participation, and dialogue (Rapid Development, 11). Formation in the responsible and critical use of the media helps people to use them intelligently and appropriately. The profound impact upon the mind of new vocabulary and of images, which the electronic media in particular so easily introduce into society, cannot be overestimated. Precisely because contemporary media shape popular culture, they themselves must overcome any temptation to manipulate, especially the young, and instead pursue the desire to form and serve.
Participation in the mass media arises from their nature as a destined for all people.