The Catholic church’s use of media can be studied very thoroughly. Among the multitude of ways in which the Catholic church uses media, this blog will focus on only a few. The Catholic church uses media to spread and influence their faith to an audience efficiently as well as provide accurate reports about events to the world. These uses of media help the Catholic church take part in bringing together humankind and doing so well.
According to the Commino et Progressio, channels of social communication are necessary in this fast and technological century to, “inform a vast public about what goes on in the world and about contemporary attitudes and they do it swiftly” (Order of Second Vatican Council, 1971, paragraph 6). Additionally, these media channels help the Christian community bring people closer together through communication. This can be related to one of the 7 Catholic Social Teachings of Solidarity. Solidary also discusses bringing humankind together, emphasizing that despite ethical, racial, ideological, economic, and other differences that humans possess, everyone is still part of mankind’s race created by God.
Through observations of Easter Sunday Catholic mass, the Rivaio Catholic church’s use of media was very limited. The church’s media was seen as paper pamphlets and microphones. Firstly, the pamphlets recited the complete service and did so verbatim. However, it was significant to note that although the pamphlets mentioned pages numbers for a hymn book, there were no hymn books available. The majority of the Italian audience did not use the pamphlets but instead recited the prayers and hymns from knowledge. Therefore, it is evident that the audience did not seem to need this form of media to better experience the special service. The other form of media observed was the microphone. Only two microphones were noticed, each situated on one of the two podiums on either side of the altar. These microphones were used for whoever spoke throughout the service, most frequently, the priest. The Catholic church’s use of microphones can be discerned as a way to communicate the sermon to the audience more quickly and clearly. Unlike the popular response to the pamphlets, the microphones seemed to be accepted by all as they were more of a necessity to hear what the priest had to say. Through both forms of media, the Catholic church was able to provide a more helpful and efficient way to spread their message to the audience.
In conclusion, the Catholic church used media in this specific observed environment on Easter Sunday for a faster and more productive way to inform the population of their message and even worldly events. Furthermore, these forms of media can be seen to solidify the community because they are uniform and are not directed to an exclusive audience. Overall, the Catholic church uses media in order to improve the effectiveness in which they share their faith in the world.
Pontifical Council for Social Communications. (1971, May 23). Communio et Progressio. Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_23051971_communio_en.html
Comments