Addressing a seminar by the Church in Malta a few weeks back, Jim McDonnell, who has many years of work experience in Church communications, said that a secular society may challenge the Church to justify its participation in the public sphere. However, a modern, secular, pluralistic society also provides opportunities for the Church to find new ways of communicating its message to new audiences.

The Church recognises the media's exceptional influence in contemporary culture and the opportunities it offers in the Church's desire to enter into dialogue with the modern world. This makes it imperative for the Church to do its best to understand the media. The Church also needs to seek becoming more competent in dealing with the mass media, which, naturally, requires sufficient personnel development through the employment of gifted, trained and efficient communicators to keep the media professionally informed about what the Church is saying and doing.

The Church must better understand its audiences. Indeed, communication must involve a serious attempt to put oneself in the receiving end. Otherwise, communication may result in one not being heard correctly, which may be worse than not being heard at all. As Dr McDonnell said, the opportunities for communicating effectively in a secular society are primarily linked to a change of mind-set not to changes in technologies or media. The major challenge is therefore to rethink and reframe Church communications in terms of audience, content and style.

There is also the role of priests. As Pope Benedict XVI says in his message for this year's World Communications Day, priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of communications as faithful witnesses to the gospel, exercising their proper role as leaders of communities.

This, of course, implies that priests have to be very careful in what they write and say when participating in the dialogue generated through the media because people look upon them as communicating on behalf of the Church. Hence, the clergy need to keep in mind that if they take issue with one another in media debates and, perhaps, get involved in what may be perceived as sending mixed or contrasting messages on highly-sensitive moral or other important Church issues, this might generate a kind of unhealthy confusion that surely does not enhance the credibility of the Church.

Such possible occasional circumstances, or other thorny situations brought about, for instance, by what may seem as selective or biased reporting by certain sections of the media, should not foment Church fear and distrust of the media. First of all, from the local point of view, generally speaking, the mainstream media is still very accessible and receptive in covering newsworthy Church communications and pronouncements. Moreover, as Dr McDonnell observed, fear and distrust of the media can be bigger handicaps to seizing the new opportunities available than perceived or even actual media indifference or hostility.

Church culture and media culture are different and at certain points a stark contrast appears. At times, relations between the Church and the media are marred by mutual misunderstanding. However, as Pope John Paul II once said, there is no reason why differences should make friendship and dialogue impossible. The Church needs both to reach out to and building relationships with the media and journalists and to have confidence in its own capacities and creativity.