Seminar on the Arab Christian Media at the Service of Justice and Peace
June 13, 2013: The Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan in cooperation
with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in the Vatican held their first
joint conference in Amman from 10-11 June 2013, under the patronage of His Beatitude
Patriarch Fuad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem . Present at the conference were,
the Minister of State for Media and Communications H.E. Dr. Mohammad Momani and H.
E. Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, the President of the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications.
The title of the Conference was: "the Arab Christian Media
at the Service of Justice, Peace and Human Rights". The conference was attended by
Christian and Muslim clergymen, media professionals and others. The seminar aims to
promote every possible synergy with the national ecclesial situations, sensitizing
participants in a collaboration that increases the effectiveness of the Church's presence
in the field of communications in Jordan. All existing Catholic media should be supported
with special attention to computer communication and new technologies.
The
Catholic Center for Studies and Media announced that it will present the Centre's
shield, starting this year, to two intellectual figures. This year, Dr. Isam Sakhnini
from Petra University received the Shield in appreciation for his book: "The Genocide
Against Christians in Najran 523 and in Jerusalem 614" as well as Artist and Comedian
Mr. Mousa Hijazine in appreciation for his contribution in the domain of political
theatre and freedom of expression.
At the end of the conference, the organizers
agreed on the following: To send a cable of greetings and respect to His Majesty
King Abdullah bin Al Hussein on the occasion of his Accession to the Throne, the Army's
and Great Arab Revolution Day, which coincided with this conference. The conference
underscores the leading and essential role played by the all kinds of media. The conference
agreed on the need to promote the work of media to serve the values of justice, peace
and human rights through focusing on what unites people not what sets them apart.
The conference concluded that media should aim at spreading harmony and peace among
people. The conference underscored the leading role religious media plays today;
religious media can serve religion through exploring its true identity but also can
destroy and use religion to serve political and other interests. The conference
highlights the importance the Arab Christian Media role in serving Arab, human and
international causes. Arab Christian media is not a closed one; it puts itself at
the service of human causes like justice, peace, respect of and defending if necessary
the rights of humans. Media outlets provide a space for communication with Churches,
on the ecumenical level, and also with Muslims, with whom we share the bitter present
as well as the past and destiny. The conference stressed the importance of supporting
positive dialogue initiatives through the various types of media. The conference
calls for more cooperation between the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
in the Vatican and the Catholic Centre for Studies and Media in Jordan. The conference
calls for continuing their cooperation in publishing books and publications that call
for the proper usage of media outlets and the profession's ethics, and place such
knowledge in the hands of the younger generations to bring about knowledge, goodness
and love. The conference encourages media professionals to be, as Pope Francis has
said in his first meeting with media personnel on 16 March 2013: " Witnesses for the
Truth, Beauty and Goodness". The conference called at the closing ceremony for
justice, peace and respect for human rights in the Arab region and for stopping violence
on the part of all feuding parties in more than one Arab country. The conference praises
the humanitarian role played by the Government of Jordan in hosting Syrian refugees
from Iraq and Syria. The conference calls for the release of The Syriac Orthodox Archbishop
of Aleppo Yohanna Ibrahim and his Greek Orthodox counterpart Boulos Yazaji. The
conference “wishes the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan continued Progress, Dialogue and
Fraternity” (Cf. Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, speech at the inauguration ceremony of
the American University of Madaba, Jordan , 30\5\2013), and hopes Jordan remains
a safe haven for national unity and co-living between all of its citizens without
any discrimination. The conference thanks all speakers who enriched the conference
with their thoughts that expressed appreciation to the Arab Christian media and to
all other media outlets that uphold human dignity.