MESSAGE
OF THE HOLY FATHER
FOR THE 29th WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY
"Cinema: communicator of culture and of values."
Sunday, May 28, 1995
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
This year, on the occasion of World Communications Day, I would like to invite you to think about the cinema as "a communicator of culture and of values". As you certainly will know, during the current year celebrations are being held around the world to commemorate the first centennial of this special and widespread medium of expression, now so easily accessible to all.
The Church has often pointed out the importance of the communications media in transmitting and promoting human and religious values (cf. Pius XII, Miranda prorsus, 1957) and the special responsibilities that ensue for those who work in this difficult field. The Church, in fact, considering the progress that has been made and the developments that have taken place in the world of social communication in recent decades, is well aware both of the dangerous conditioning power enjoyed by the mass media as well as of the capacity that they offer, if wisely used, of being useful for evangelization.
