The Church's role in society is not to impose itself, Archbishop Paul Cremona told journalists yesterday.
The Church feels more comfortable now that its only source of power is to be found in God's message rather than when it imposed itself and failed to show the face of Christ's love, he said at a Mass for journalists at the Catholic Institute in Floriana on the occasion of the feast of St Francis de Sales, their patron saint.
He urged the media to give more space and importance to Christian values and those who promote them.
It was the first time since Mgr Cremona became Archbishop of Malta last January that he has celebrated this traditional annual Mass for journalists.
In his homily, he expressed the wish that those who practise Christian values or who offer their help to others without remuneration would be given more importance by the media. In the same context he referred to the positive experiences which he said balance the negative message surrounding marriage and the family.
"Such a negative message is surely contributing to the break-up of marriages and families and to fear among young people to make a stable commitment to form a family," he said.
Another message he wanted to convey had to do with the widespread belief that this was a society and culture that had reached its apex and that this culture would not change. If this were the case, it would be the first time in history that a culture did not change as time passed. Those who adhered to two ideologies of the last century - Communism and Nazism - had felt this way but these ideologies had collapsed after causing so much harm.
Therefore, he said, it was important that journalists were courageous and would not allow themselves to be carried away by things that were merely popular, money-making or connected to power. They should instead base their judgments on what they consider to be good.
Mgr Cremona touched on the time of the Inquisition, quoting Pope John Paul when he said that one should expose the faults of the past in order to avoid a repeat. During the Inquisition, the Church had been part of the political structure and at times it had used this power to silence others and to exclude those disagreeing with it.
"We thank God that today the Church is conveying Christ's message without exercising material power but through the power of persuasion."
While modern culture boasted of being liberal and pluralistic, at times it revealed aspects that reflected totalitarianism in the name of a dominant secular ideology. At times this could develop into a form of censorship.
He described as censorship the recent episode when Pope Benedict XVI cancelled a planned visit to La Sapienza University in Rome after a number of lecturers and students objected.
The practice of rubbishing anyone speaking through Christian inspiration instead of a secular one is also an act of intolerance, the Archbishop insisted.
He thanked God for journalists who use the power given by the social communications media to promote what is good, especially all that which upholds human dignity, marriage and the family.