In the Post Synod document "Ecclesia in Oceania" of Pope John Paul, released on Thursday 22 November 2001, there are some significant references for us to reflect on.

Extract - "Evangelisation and the Media"

"In today's world, the media of social communication are increasingly powerful as agents of modernisation, even in the remotest parts of Oceania. The media have a great impact on the lives of people, on their culture, on their moral thinking and on there religious behaviour; and, when used indiscriminately, they can have a harmful effect in traditional cultures".

Comment: The Signis Pacific video resources, "Media, the Pacific Way" highlights this point by drawing our attention to the impact of media on children, political debate, standards of decency, local representation of culture.

"The Synod Fathers called for a greater awareness of the power of the media, which offer an excellent opportunity for the Church to evangelize, to build community and solidarity. Indeed the media often provide the only contact the Church has with non-practising Catholics or the wider community. Therefore, they should be employed in a creative and responsible manner".

Where possible, the Church should devise a pastoral plan for communications at the national, diocesan and parish levels. Co-ordination of the Church's efforts is necessary to ensure better preparation of those who represent the Church in the media, and to encourage dedicated lay people to enter the media professionally as a vocation".

Comment: It is incumbent on all Signis Pacific members to encourage and support young people to join us in out mission? Formation, money and supportive on-going mentoring are some of the obstacles. Many of our members attended one of our annual workshops on Social Communications Planning.

"It is a sign of hope that Christians working in the media are giving evidence of their commitment to Christian values. With their assistance, religious material and programmes reflecting human and moral values can be professionally produced, even if funding is often a problem. A Catholic media centre for the whole of Oceania could be of great help in using the media for the purposes of evengelization".

Comment: How can Signis Pacific assist this aim? What should we be saying to our bishops? Is this a realistic proposal considering the diverse cultures between the North and South Pacific, the larger Pacific Islands and the smaller communities, the developing and developed nations?

"The Bishops also expressed concern about standards of decency in the public media and denounced the level of violence they have reached. Church leaders need to collaborate when codes of ethics for the media are drawn up; and families and young people need assistance in critically evaluating the content of programmes. Catholic educational institutions therefore have a vital role in helping people, especially youth, to come to a critical appreciation of the media. The Christian faith challenges us all to become discriminating listeners, viewers and readers".

"Advertising has great power to encourage both good and evil. The process of globalization and the growing pattern of monopolies in the media give it still greater power over people. By means of image and suggestion, advertising often propagates a culture of consumerism, reducing people to what they have or can acquire. It leads people to believe that there is nothing beyond what a consumer economy can offer. The greatest concern with this power is that, for the most part, it ceaselessly propagates an ideology that is clearly in conflict with the vision of the Catholic faith. It is important that the faithful, especially the young, be equipped to deal critically with advertising which is an ubiquitous part of life today. This means that they must be given a clear and strong sense of human and Christian values which are fundamental to the Catholic understanding of human life".

Comment: Fiji's, "Media Watch", Australia's Catholic Film Office and the video resource, "Media, the Pacific Way" are examples of Signis Pacific members seeking to realise many of the sentiments expressed in this section of the document. What more can Signis Pacific do, or more specifically what more can each of us do in our own countries?

Prayer for the Media

Grant, O Lord,
that the antennas and the spires
learn to speak to one another.
Help your Church to be
a people in dialogue,
able to speak and to communicate
internally, and outside.
Grant us to learn and teach
a free and freeing use of the media,
to see and treasure in them
a prophetic sign:
the hem of the mantle
of your Son, made flesh for us.
Raise up for us people
who can unite in their lives
the antenna and the spire,
faithful to the present world,
faithful to the promised homeland,
ready to marry their two loyalties
with love and competence.

- Carlos Maria Martini