(This article courtesy of the Vatican Information Service.)
VATICAN CITY (VIS) – Eighty members of the International Catholic Union of the Press, meeting in Rome to celebrate the organization's 75th anniversary, were welcomed on Friday by the Holy Father who remarked on the group's great growth over the decades. He noted that at their first meeting in 1930 there were 230 journalists from 33 countries, whereas at the 2001 meeting there were 1,080 journalists from 106 countries.
In his talk to them in English, the Holy Father highlighted what it means
to be a professional journalist who is Catholic. “Quite simply,” he said,
“it means being a person of integrity, an individual whose personal and
professional life reflects the teachings of Jesus and the Gospel. It means
striving for the highest ideals of professional excellence, being a man or
woman of prayer who seeks always to give the very best they have to offer.
It means having the courage to seek and report the truth, even when the
truth is inconvenient or is not considered 'politically correct'.”
“It means,” John Paul II continued, “being sensitive to the moral,
religious and spiritual aspects of human life, aspects which are often
misunderstood or deliberately ignored. It means reporting not only the
misdeeds and tragedies that take place, but also the positive and uplifting
actions performed on behalf of those in need; the poor, the sick, the
handicapped, the weak, those who are otherwise forgotten by society. It
means offering examples of hope and heroism to a world that is in desperate
need of both.”
“These are some of the things that must mark your professional lives as
Catholic journalists,” said the Pope in closing. “And this is the spirit
that the International Catholic Union of the Press must always strive to
embody in its membership and activities.”
