I am writing this blog just after the conclusion of the celebration of the double canonisation of Pope John XXIII and Pope John II. Probably some of you watched parts of the ceremony that was transmitted on local television stations.

Malta was not alone. Hundreds of stations around the world broadcast this transmission which provided a technical first: Pope Francis became the first pope to be transmitted in 3D. A minor detail compared to the momentousness of the celebration but one that just the same caught the media’ imagination.

Is this world-wide broadcasting of the liturgical celebration an indication of some revival of Catholicism? It is nothing of the sort. The blanket coverage is due to the fact that the celebration fitted like a glove in the aesthetic and commercial logic of the television industry. It is nothing less and nothing more.

This celebration had so many firsts attached to it that it created an enormous amount of interest beyond the borders of the Catholic Church. And wherever there is the potential for an audience one finds the media.

This was the first ever such celebration attended by two living popes: Francis and Benedict.

This was the first time that two popes were canonised during the same celebration. The two popes were very popular during their pontificate; their audience went beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church. Moreover the two popes appeal to two different areas of interest in the Catholic Church.

Pope John XXIII grabbed world attention with his simplicity. I still remember Life Magazine’s double page spread with the photo of the pope and the caption: A spiritual giant in the guise of a simple man. He then rocked Peter’s boat by the second Vatican Council. He opened the Church in innovative way to the world. During this morning’s homily Pope Francis described him as “the Pope of openness to the Holy Spirit.”

Pope John Paul II was billed by the media as the superstar. The Pope who was a also a singer and an actor stole the hearts of millions. The attempt on his life exploded his popularity not only with Catholics. He broke several pontifical stereotypes and did a number of firsts. Moreover he was presented as the demolisher of communism. The media forgave him his – in the media’s perception – ‘conservative’ positions on family issue and kept on framing him in populist garb. Pope Francis described him as “the Pope of the family.” After the death of John Paul II, a USA based university published a book with the front pages of newspapers around the world announcing his death. There was probably no other pope who received so much coverage during his life and on his death.

This media’s coverage of this morning’s canonisation is just another example that shows that the media does not have an agenda against the Church as it does not have an agenda in favour of the Church.

Today the media is largely made up of international commercial mega-industries. What serves their agenda is pushed forward, what doesn’t is ignored. This is the simple but perhaps terrible truth that the Church has to keep in mind while trying to build a strategy to use the media to spread its message.