Pope Benedict called on the media on Thursday to practise “info-ethics”, saying it was often used irresponsibly to spread violence and impose “distorted models” of life.
In his message for the Catholic Church’s World Communications Day, Benedict said that while the media did much good, it was also often used for ideological reasons and tried to create reality rather than report it.
“When communication loses its ethical underpinning and eludes society’s control, it ends up no longer taking into account the centrality and inviolable dignity of the human person,” he said in the three-page message.
“For this reason it is essential that social communications should assiduously defend the person and fully respect human dignity. Many people now think there is a need, in this sphere, for ‘info-ethics’, just as we have bioethics in the field of medicine and in scientific research linked to life,” he said.
Locally there has been a trend in having what are generally referred to as ‘Pulpit swaps’ where the priest of one church will preach and sometimes co-celebrate with rector or pastor of another ecclesial gathering and vice versa. For the most part, seems to work out well. Quite often, when I read something of Papa Ratzis’ and contrast that with things I read from Rowan Cantaur et al , I wonder if we could institute a pulpit swap a little higher up, even for a week or two. Or better swap a German theologian for a Oceanographer. If they can accommodate innovation, I’m sure I could deal with infallibility.