Theme of World Communications Day 2012 announced

(September 30, 2011) For the Catholic Church’s next World Day of Communications Pope Benedict XVI is asking media professionals and viewers, listeners and readers to set aside a bit of time for silence to ponder on what they hear, watch and read. "Silence and Word: path of evangelization,” is the Pope’ theme for the annual observance, that the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications released on Thursday. The Church’s World Day of Communications Day is observed in most countries on the Sunday before Pentecost, which in 2012 will fall on May 20. A papal message for the occasion usually is released on the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers, Jan. 24. The Pontifical Council which coordinates the annual observance said that in the Pope's thinking, "silence is not presented simply as an antidote to the constant and unstoppable flow of information that characterizes society today, but rather as a factor that is necessary for its integration." Silence, the council said, favours discernment and reflection. Particularly when talking about the word of God, silence is an indispensable part of welcoming the message the word is communicating, it said. Pope Benedict wanted to associate the theme of the 2012 World Communications Day with preparations for the Synod of Bishops, scheduled for October 2012 in the Vatican, on the theme of new evangelization.