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11. Means of Social Communication PDF Print E-mail
Written by Consolata.org   
Tuesday, 07 February 2006
83. Enucleation of the orientation


“In the beginning was the Word” (Jn. 1. 1), i.e. communication. God communicates himself in Jesus Christ.

The second document approved by the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, Inter mirifica, deals with the means of social communication.

There have not been lacking other documents on the same subject: “Rather than judging the means of social communication, this tradition is placed at their service. The Church’s culture of wisdom can save the media culture of informaion from becoming a meaningless accumulation of facts” (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 560).

The Consolata missionaries, heirs of Joseph Allamano and James Camisassa, who founded in 1899 the well known bulletin La Consolata, have constantly communicated even by means of their magazines and other bulletins. Cf. XGC 70-71). It is worth noticing that our confreres of South Korea, while not yet fluent in the Korean language, started the publication of a mission magazine in the same language. We are aware that the world of publications has been mentioned as the “first aeropagus” of modern times (RM 37).

84. Aspects which motivate the orientation

1. A human being is a communicative being. Today’s globalization accelerates this basic need: communication is even taking place “on line”, eliminating altogether the limits of time and space.

2. Communication has the power of encouraging and consoling, but also of persuading, manipulating and dominating.

3. One communicates what he wishes and that which is convenient. Hence is born the phenomenon of consumerism and the consensus imposed at the mercy of the dominant powers.

4. As missionaries, we ought to defend of right of peoples to be properly informed, so that all may have the chance of making their voice heard. Information must be related to formation of a well educated and critical conscience of society.

5. To become good communicators of the Word, we must use these means of communication, and update ourselves on the current modes of expression of the mass media.

6. The means of social communication are indispensable for AMV.

85. Practical Proposals

1. Organize an international meeting of the missionaries who are principally involved in communications for the Institute, in collaboration with the Consolata Missionary Sisters.

2. Promote, collaborate and propagate the means of social communication, including the aids for AMV, in those areas which utilize the same language.

3.All missionaries of a region should give support, including financial support, to the IMC mission magazines. They should promote their circulation, and favor the production of other missionary publicatons.

4. Educate ourselves and educate others to value properly the means of social communication (printed, TV, radio, video, internet, cellular). We should also learn to adapt ourselves to those situations and places where it is not possible to have at our disposal all these modern means of communication, and become promoters of their expansion.

5. Favor “alternative social communication”, valuing local means and symbols: theater, poetry, puppets, posters, dance, music.…

6. Encourage participation in local radio and television broadcasts.

7. Coordinate among the IMC mission magazines web pages for the interchange of materials.

8. Favor the collaboration of laity and professional technicians who are in harmony with the editorial policy of our means of social communications.

9. Use email, whenever possible, for the posting of regional bulletins and other IMC communications.

10, Keep our internet sites updated, so that they may serve as instruments for the transmission of documents and materials for ongoing formation. For this there should also be in the GMS a coordinator of all the means of social communication.

11. To be active by means of communication in the information agencies, especially in MISNA, with the help of our missionaries from all over the world. In order to make this possible, someone should be appointed to be in charge within each Region.