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Vatican City, 21st February 2006 (CNA)
- During a press conference, held earlier
today to mark the 75th anniversary of Vatican
Radio, officials from the worldwide media giant
called the station a bridge between the Pope, the
Holy See and the world, and looked toward its
continuing spread of the Gospel--particularly in
poorer parts of the world, where the Church is
often growing fastest.
The conference was titled "Vatican Radio at
75. New ways to serve the Church and future
prospects."
Speaking to the crowd first, Fr. Federico
Lombardi S.J., director general of Vatican Radio
said that the mission of the media giant, as laid
out in its statutes is "To announce the Christian
message freely, faithfully and effectively, and to
link the center of Catholicism with the countries
of the world.”
This, he said, is done by, “diffusing the
voice and teachings of the Roman Pontiff;
providing information on the activities of the
Holy See; reflecting Catholic life around the
world; and encouraging the evaluation of
contemporary problems in the light of ecclesial
Magisterium and with constant attention for the
signs of the times."
Likewise, Fr. Lombardi explained that
Vatican Radio is characterized by its flexible and
multicultural approach, noting that it now
transmits programs in 45 languages.
In a general sense, he said, radio "is
vital everywhere and in some parts of the world -
such as, for example, Africa - it is the means
most capable of deep and effective
penetration."
The director also described some of the
technological advances that Vatican Radio has gone
through in recent years and particularly noted how
the internet is making news from the Church and
the Vatican accessible to people and places where
there would otherwise be media darkness
This is serving to “carry out a useful
service for the lay world of communication,” he
said, noting the organization’s Japanese page,
which is the most visited for searches of the word
'Vatican'.
Fr. Lombardi also boasted of the fact that
Vatican Radio offers training courses to young
journalists and students of social communications,
"an average of 50 a year," he said, although
"there were 140 during the Jubilee Year
2000."
The Holy See pointed out that Vatican Radio
currently employs 384 people, including numerous
priests, religious and male and female lay people
- from some 59 countries.
A Bridge to the World
Fr. Andrzej Koprowski S.J., who is director
of programs at the station, told those gathered
that one of the objectives of Vatican Radio is to
be "a bridge between the Holy Father - the Holy
See - the Universal Church and the respective
societies and the respective particular
Churches."
Fr. Koprowski went on to explain the
genesis of the unique language sections of Vatican
Radio into the media and ecclesial context of the
world, explaining that each of these sections
"came into being at specific moments in the life
of the Church and the world."
For example, he pointed out that after
World War II and the Communist takeover of eastern
Europe, the station directed its efforts towards
the countries and particular Churches that were
suffering most.
"For this reason," he the program director
said, "we have a wealth of programs and languages
above all from European countries, especially
eastern and southern Europe."
Today, he said, Vatican Radio has become
acutely aware "of the development of the Church in
Latin America, Africa and Asia."
Making particular reference to "Arabic
language and culture, which is no longer the
exclusive preserve of the Middle East but also of
various regions of Europe and the world,” Fr,
Koprowski said that “the view of the 'Arab world'
and the 'Muslim world' is not just a political
matter, but also a cultural, social and ecclesial
question of primary importance, as the last few
weeks have shown."
Speaking on Asia, he said that "We know of
the development of the Church in India, and we are
aware of the role Indian Christianity has for the
future of the Universal Church, just as we are
aware of ... the vital need for the Church to
enter into dialogue and to understand the cultures
of other countries in the immense continent of
Asia: China, Japan, Vietnam, etc."
Concluding, Fr. Koprowski stressed the
cultural and religious situation in many of the
world’s formerly Communist European countries
which, he said "currently favors new forms of
collaboration through the local media, both public
and private, Catholic and
non-Catholic." |
