Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age
On the Feast Day of St. Gabriel the Archangel, the messenger of God and patron Saint
of communications workers, the Vatican has revealed the theme chosen by Pope Benedict
XVI for World Communcations Day 2011: "Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life
in the digital age". This theme, according to a Vatican communiqué, is to be understood
as focusing on the human person who is at the heart of all communicative processes.
Even in an age that is largely dominated, and at times conditioned, by new technologies,
the value of personal witness remains essential. To approach the truth and to take
on the task of sharing it requires the “guarantee” of an authenticity of life from
those who work in the media, and especially from Catholic journalists; an authenticity
of life that is no less required in a digital age. Technology, on its own, cannot
establish or enhance a communicator’s credibility, nor can it serve as a source of
the values which guide communication. The truth must remain the firm and unchanging
point of reference of new media and the digital world, opening up new horizons of
information and knowledge. Ideally, it is the pursuit of truth which constitutes the
fundamental objective of all those who work in the media. The full text of the
message for the 45th World Communications Day will be released on 24 January
2011, the feast of Saint Francis De Sales, patron of journalists.