EDINBURGH - 28 April 2008 - 520 words
Scottish bishop appeals for ethics in the media
In his message sent to all of Scotland's 500 parishes for the 42nd World Communications Day, Bishop Philip Tartaglia President of the National Communications Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland claims "a fundamental disconnection between the provider and the consumer" has occurred in the media. The letter which will be read at all Masses on Sunday, 4 May suggests that "mass communications can fairly be charged with losing the ethical underpinning that once existed". Bishop Tartaglia points out, "While the last national census showed that over two thirds of Scots described themselves as Christians, few of those who work in radio, television and the press share this identity."
In response the letter endorses Pope Benedict's call for "info-ethics", just as we have bioethics in the field of medicine and scientific research, concluding "Analysing the ethical implications of how information is transmitted would help the media avoid becoming spokespersons for a secular and humanistic agenda. It is crucial that those who work in this field seek to understand the moral and ethical view of humanity shared by those of us who believe in God."
The full text of the letter is shown below.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The theme of this year's World Communications Day - "The
Media: At the Crossroads between Self-Promotion and Service. Searching
for the Truth in order to Share it with Others" - highlights
the important role of the media in the life of individuals and
society. As the Pope says in his message this year; "there
is no area of human experience, especially given the vast phenomenon
of globalization, in which the media have not become an integral
part of interpersonal relations and of social, economic, political
and religious development.
The mass media today is pervasive, persuasive and all too often
invasive.
Pope Benedict rightly acknowledges the contribution the media
can make to the diffusion of news, to knowledge of facts and to
the dissemination of information. At the same time the Pope warns
that the mass media can be used for ideological purposes, and
"can tend to legitimise or impose distorted models of personal,
family or social life. As Scottish Catholics, we know only too
well how true this is, and we are keenly aware of how rarely our
own media represents us as people of faith in a fair or balanced
manner.
Today, mass communications can fairly be charged with losing the
ethical underpinning that once existed. It is a sad reality that
those involved in the production and dissemination of much of
our media content do not themselves share the religious or moral
perspectives of their audience. There has occurred a fundamental
disconnection between the provider and the consumer. While the
last national census showed that over two thirds of Scots described
themselves as Christians, few of those who work in radio, television
and the press share this identity.
How then can they understand what motivates and engages us? How
can they provide us, their viewers, listeners and readers with
appropriate content? The Pope suggests we need to introduce "info-ethics",
just as we have bioethics in the field of medicine and scientific
research.
Analysing the ethical implications of how information is transmitted
would help the media avoid becoming spokespersons for a secular
and humanistic agenda. It is crucial that those who work in this
field seek to understand the moral and ethical view of humanity
shared by those of us who believe in God.
We each have a responsibility to help them in this task. We are
all consumers of the mass media and when we are misrepresented
or maligned we must speak out. Likewise, when our values and ideals
are respected and represented fairly, we must praise and commend.
Nationally this is exactly what our Catholic Media Office through
imaginative and ongoing engagement with the media seeks to do.
To this end, to coincide with World Communications day, the Scottish
Catholic Media Office has created a new website. The new website
can be viewed at www.scmo.org
I would urge you to visit this site. It will allow you to see
first hand what the Church has said on a wide range of issues,
in turn preventing you from being misled by partial or inaccurate
media coverage. The new website includes audio clips and video
content, and includes a facility which allows anyone to subscribe
to all media releases simply by entering their email address.
Again I would urge you to subscribe in this way to the output
of our Media Office
While the information service provided by the Media Office is
free at the point of use, it clearly has to be paid for. With
this in mind I appeal to your great generosity in asking you to
contribute to today,s special communications collection.
Finally, in the words of Pope John Paul II of happy memory: "Let
us ask the Holy Spirit to raise up courageous communicators and
authentic witnesses to the truth, faithful to Christ's mandate
and enthusiastic for the message of the faith.
Yours devotedly in Christ
Bishop Philip Tartaglia
To coincide with World Communications Day, the Scottish Catholic Media Office has created a new website. The new website can be viewed at www.scmo.org. This new website includes audio clips and video content, and includes a facility which allows anyone to subscribe to all media releases simply by entering their email address.
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