Calling for a Responsible Media
One the first challenges that is noted in Vatican II’s Decree on the Means of Social Communication is the call to their proper use. This is highly dependent upon those who use modern means of social communication to have a deep grounding in morality. The council fathers state it this way:
It is, however, especially necessary that all parties concerned should adopt for themselves a proper moral outlook on the use of these media, especially with respect to certain questions that have been vigorously aired in our day.
The first question that arises has to do with how information is to be shared, especially with regards to news reporting.
…in society men have a right to information, in accord with the circumstances in each case, about matters concerning individuals or the community. The proper exercise of this right demands, however, that the news itself that is communicated should always be true and complete, within the bounds of justice and charity. In addition, the manner in which the news is communicated should be proper and decent. This means that in both the search for news and in reporting it, there must be full respect for the laws of morality and for the legitimate rights and dignity of the individual. For not all knowledge is helpful, but “it is charity that edifies.”
I am sad to say that whether it be the “best news team in America” or a “fair and balanced reporting of the news”, an edifying charity seems rarely present in how the news is reported in the United States. Perhaps I am just being negative but I find it hard to believe that our news reporting is, with the exception of sports reporters, true and complete, within the bounds of justice and charity, or proper and decent. This makes me sad as our country dearly needs information about what is happening in our world and needs to hear it in the fashion which is described in this document.
The second question deals with the relationship between the rights, as they are called, of art and the norms of morality. Since the mounting controversies in this area frequently take their rise from false teachings about ethics and aesthetics, the Council proclaims that all must hold to the absolute primacy of the objective moral order, that is, this order by itself surpasses and fittingly coordinates all other spheres of human affairs-the arts not excepted-even though they be endowed with notable dignity. For man who is endowed by God with the gift of reason and summoned to pursue a lofty destiny, is alone affected by the moral order in his entire being. And likewise, if man resolutely and faithfully upholds this order, he will be brought to the attainment of complete perfection and happiness.
This second question seems to apply more and more to our society that continues to blur the boundaries between news and entertainment, where the president more of a celebrity than he is a statesmen, and where messages are delivered to millions through media machines controlled by the hands of only a few. Hollywood continues to produce products that are labelled as art that go well beyond the traditional definitions of art. Music and film are meant from the standpoint of the Church to edify and to raise people’s thoughts to a higher realm, but many times in the modern world, they are much more capable of accomplishing the opposite.
We who employ the new media in our efforts toward evangelization should be aware of the great responsibility we have to those who will read and interact with us. The basic norms of morality must be at the center of all that we produce for others, lest we lead others away from the message of the Gospel, rather than toward it. May we be filled with God’s prudence and wisdom in all our writing and work.
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