NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II today encouraged the participants in a seminar on modern communications to use those high-tech tools for the purpose of evangelization.

      "The meeting between divine revelation and modern means of social communication, which must be conducted with respect for the truths contained in the Bible and the just use of modern techniques, can bear abundant good fruits," the Pope said. He said that the challenge is to push the mass media toward "more noble tasks," and to curb the "improper and often banal" use of the media.

      The conference, dedicated to exploration of better use of modern communications tools-- especially television and cinema-- "touches on a service of great human and spiritual value," the Pope said. These media "always deserved to be developed and perfected," he added.

      The Holy Father cited a fundamental principles which should guide that effort: "the absolutely transcendent dimension of the Word of God." The challenge here is to translate "one form of language into another," he said-- from the written word to the visual medium, which is "apparently more superficial, but in some respects more powerful and incisive than other forms of language."

      Pope John Paul also welcomed the renewed interest of filmmakers in the stories of the Old and New Testament, which has been evident in the recent production of several new Italian films on Biblical themes.