Pope calls for regulation of media

Pope John Paul today called for regulations to ensure that media was truthful, saying that mass communication sometimes offered distorted visions of family and morality.

“Thanks to modern technologies, many families can directly access vast resources of communication and information and take advantage of it for education, cultural enrichment and spiritual growth,” said the pope, who has recorded prayers for videos and CDs and is a best-selling author.

“Means of communication can, however, cause grave harm to the family when they offer an inadequate or even distorted vision of life, the family itself, religion and morality,” Pope John Paul said, urging consumers to “learn how to use them with wisdom and prudence”.

He added that parents have the duty to properly use the media as they educate their children.

“It’s a task that likewise involves public institutions, called upon to enact regulatory procedures aimed at ensuring that the means of social communication are always respectful of the truth and of the common good,” the pontiff said.

He continued that the Catholic Church “looks upon the operators of this vast sector (of media) with attention and favour and desires to establish with them a frank and open dialogue to encourage the commitment aimed at authentic progress of humanity”.

The church today marked its annual World Day of Social Communications, a reflection of the emphasis this papacy has put on the potential and the importance of the media.

Appearances by John Paul at the Vatican and in his more than 100 trips abroad have been widely broadcast, and Vatican Radio programmes can be heard in dozens of languages by millions of faithful around the globe.