Archbishop insists media must be at the service of humanity

People who work in the media, like all other workers, ought to be aware of the responsibility they carry and the ethical repercussions of their job, Archbishop Paul Cremona said yesterday.

He was speaking to members of the media with the aim of promoting the message that Pope Benedict XVI gave on the occasion of the World Day of Social Communication celebrated by the Church on the feast of the Ascension on Sunday.

Mgr Cremona said that nowadays the media is part of everyday life and plays a role in social, economic, political and religious development. The Book of Genesis highlighted the inextricable link between work and dignity and those who worked in the media could not separate the two.

Seeking to show the truth about humanity, which was part of the media's role, was the highest form of social communication, he said.

It would be a great shortcoming if the media changed to offer a service to those in power rather than a service to humanity.

If this happened then the media would be merely acting as a spokesman for economic materialism and ethical relativism, the Archbishop said.

The Bible also spoke about the fact that man was to take responsibility for his work and those in the media also carried this ethical responsibility.

The media could do a lot of good when those who made use of it recognised that they could improve the world around them by spreading news and facts, increasing literacy and encouraging dialogue between people, among other things.

But the media could also be used for negative purposes when, for example, it was used to advertise consumerism, transmit a distorted model of reality or advocate violence and vulgarity.

Mgr Cremona added that, in his message, the Pope had touched on the importance of "info-ethics" and guided members of the media to keep in mind that everything that was technically possible was not ethically permissible.