(omissis)

Attention to the mass media

63. Given the importance of the means of social communication, the Church in Europe must necessarily pay particular attention to the multi-faceted world of the mass media. This would include, among other things: the adequate training of Christians who work in the field of communications and of those who make use of the media, for a better understanding of the new kinds of language employed in the media. Special attention should be given to choosing properly trained persons to communicate the message through the media. It would also prove very helpful to have an exchange of information and of strategies between the Churches about different aspects and initiatives concerning this communication. Nor should the creation of local instruments of social communications be neglected, also on the parish level.

At the same time, it is a matter of becoming involved in the processes of social communications, in order to make them more respectful of the truth of information and of the dignity of the human person.

In this regard, I invite Catholics to contribute to the establishment of a code of ethics for those who work in the field of social communications, letting themselves be guided by the criteria which the competent agencies of the Holy See have recently indicated, 115 and which the Bishops in Synod have listed as follows: ?respect for the dignity of the human person, for his or her rights, including the right of privacy; service to truth, to justice and to human, cultural and spiritual values; respect for diverse cultures to avoid their disappearance within the majority, protection of minority groups and of the weak; pursuit of the common good, over and above particular interests and the predominance of economic criteria alone?.116

(omissis)