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Faith Alive!- No. 14 MIDST Mar-31-2008 (715 words)
The papacy and the media: Opportunities and challenges
Pope Benedict XVI speaks to journalists on the plane as he embarks on his four-day trip to Turkey in 2006. (CNS/Catholic Press Photo) |
By Jem Sullivan
Catholic News Service
When Pope Benedict XVI arrives in America in mid-April, visiting Washington and New York, the media will shine a bright spotlight on his every word and action.
Will this intense media attention shape a better understanding of the papacy today and its present challenges? Or will it allow only superficial insights into the unique spiritual role of the pope and his message to the world?
When Pope Benedict arrives in the United States, he will come not only as a head of state but as the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, a worldwide community of followers of Jesus Christ. And because of his unique role as the successor of St. Peter and his distinct mission of witnessing to the Gospel of Christ, his words and actions inevitably will draw instant commentary and judgment.
We live in the Age of Information. With a click of a button we can access vast amounts of information on the Internet, on multiple television channels and through various other electronic means. News cycles get shorter and shorter, and to convey vast amounts of news, commentary and public opinion, the media often present information in quick sound bites.
Advertising on television and the Internet markets products with such speed that viewers may not be fully aware of the hundreds of images coming at them in a 30-second commercial, for example.
To keep up with this rapid flow of information, people "speed read," skimming headlines of newspapers or online news services. They take in vast amounts of information but are left with little time to digest the deeper meaning of events, words and opinions.
How does the Age of Information affect the way Catholics and the world view the papacy? Could it be that Catholics know far more about the latest celebrity gossip than about the recent writings or teachings of the pope? Is our capacity for sustained reflection and contemplation on matters of faith weakened?
The impact of greater media attention on the papacy has been a mixed blessing for the Catholic Church. On the one hand, more people now have insight into the pope's role, his teachings, travels and personality.
The historic funeral Mass of Pope John Paul II, broadcast to every corner of the globe, was among the most watched media events in human history.
On the other hand, there is popular expectation that the pope and the Catholic Church should move at the same rapid pace as the world of information and media technology.
But the church is an age-old institution built on 2,000 years of tradition and fidelity to the Gospel. While the Church seeks to update its public image, it must, of necessity, remain faithful to Christ, to its traditions and its spiritual heritage, and not be distracted by charges that it is an institution that lives behind the times, a relic of past centuries striving to keep pace with the modern world.
Among the many challenges of today's papacy then is to speak the timeless message of the Gospel into the crowded global marketplace of ideas and information.
This, of course, is not a new challenge. Every generation of Christians has faced the task of proclaiming the Gospel in its own time and place. As chief shepherd of the church and representative of Christ, the pope is uniquely charged with this countercultural witness to the Gospel in our times.
All things considered, heightened means of mass communication provide both opportunities and challenges for the papacy today.
In the past, the pope's words, spoken and in print, were not as readily accessible as they are today. With virtual and real-time media coverage of papal events, we have a more personalized image of the pope as he travels the world, delivers a message in St. Peter's Square or blesses large crowds of the faithful gathered everywhere to hear him.
With more personalized and readily available images of the papacy, it is much easier for Catholics today to access the pastoral, theological and spiritual wisdom of the pope who brings the love of Christ himself to the fast-paced world of today.
(Sullivan teaches in the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington. She is a writer, speaker and catechetical consultant, and serves as a docent at the National Gallery of Art.)
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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