My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, chose as the theme for the 42nd World Communications Day, celebrated May 4: “The Media: At the Crossroads between Self-Promotion and Service; Searching for the Truth in Order to Share It with Others.” He built his message on communications on the theme of the World Day of Peace last January, when he said: “The social communications media, in particular, because of their educational potential, have a special responsibility for promoting respect for the family, making clear its expectations and rights, and presenting all its beauty.”

Modern communications, through the media, have truly changed the world. We know immediately about events that happen across the globe. Although the means of communications have greatly expanded, at times the quality of communications has not kept pace with the wonderful technology that makes communications so easy and thorough. These are the problems that we face today. How can our technology, especially in regard to communications through the media, bring a greater respect for human life, and especially for the truth?
In his message, the Holy Father goes on to say, “Today, communication seems increasingly to claim not simply to represent reality, but to determine it, owing to the power and the force of suggestion that it possesses.” In other words, at times the media not only report the news, but they tend to create it. This is a tremendous responsibility to be borne by a modern communications establishment. An example of this was the recent trip of Pope Benedict to the United States. The media coverage was intense from beginning to end, and truly we must compliment the media for presenting completely and honestly not only the facts of the trip, but also its impact. There were some minor incidences of seeking controversy; however, these were so minimal that the great impact of the trip and the media coverage must be praised.

In the Third Millennium, the question of communication and social communications will truly mark our world culture. There is a greater responsibility today than ever to communicate facts clearly and honestly in a world that constantly wants to know more and more about itself. Pope Benedict said, “Man thirsts for truth, he seeks truth; this fact is illustrated by the attention and the success achieved by so many publications, programs or quality fiction in which the truth, beauty and greatness of the person, including the religious dimension of the person, are acknowledged and favorably presented.” Jesus said: “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (Jn. 8:32).

How important it is that we recognize the truth as liberating, as giving us the ability to judge correctly and rightly all situations. Striving for the truth is never an easy task in a complex world, however communications can greatly assist our world society, presenting the truth for all to grasp and understand.

In our own Diocese, we are about to launch a comprehensive plan for communications, which in effect is a strategic plan. We are looking at ways to better communicate with the outside world and among one another. Father Frank Mann recently joined the communications team. He has been a great resource in getting the message out via secular radio. A significant component of that plan will be outreach to the secular press. For the better part of a half-century, Frank DeRosa has capably carried out that responsibility. He has worked hard to ensure that the Church was fairly and accurately depicted in the media. My hope is that in the coming months we engage the many community newspapers around our city and those media outlets serving people that speak languages other than English. More than half of those living in our Diocese do not speak English as their first language. The work of evangelization demands that we better engage the Spanish, Polish, Italian and Creole press.

The Prayer Channel, The Tablet and the Internet are three means of communication that are critically important to the mission of the Diocese of Brooklyn. I have asked the heads of these entities to meet regularly and devise ways in which we ensure that those who live and work in our city are made aware of the mission of the Church and our many good works. At the same time, communication is a two-way street and we want to make sure that we are able to hear and process the concerns of all New Yorkers.

We are so fortunate here to have The Prayer Channel, carried on Time Warner Cable (Channel 97) and Cablevision (Channel 30). Under the direction of Chris Quinn, the folks at The Prayer Channel have been working day and night. The coverage of the Holy Father’s trip allowed us a glimpse of what is to come. We will be christening the station with a new name to go with its new look. In the future, The Prayer Channel will concentrate on the local aspects of understanding our faith and how it is expressed in our city.

The Tablet is certainly one of the best diocesan newspapers in our country, and it has recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. The heritage of The Tablet and the respect it has among our Catholic faithful and beyond make our diocesan newspaper another wonderful instrument of communicating the truth to the world. Ed Wilkinson and his staff are working to build on the many accomplishments of the past to ensure that The Tablet is as relevant and important in the lives of Catholics in our Diocese today as it was over the last century. It is my hope that increased collaboration between print media and the television station will enable us to further the mission of the Diocese.

Always new and yet not at its full potential is the Internet. Web pages, blogs and many other possibilities surrounding this most modern means of communication, leave us in a tremendous space in which to grow in order to reach our present generation whose communications become increasingly centered on the Internet. It can be an instrument of truth, but at the same time has the potential for being misused. Michael Cibelli and his team play a critical role in shaping how new media can assist in the work of evangelization.

Our Diocese has a tradition of encouraging the media to follow the highest standards of news-gathering and dissemination. This week, for the 17th year, we commemorated World Communications Day at a luncheon attended by professionals from the secular and religious media and coordinated by the diocesan Public Information Office. The event was an opportunity to honor a popular and respected news reporter with the presentation of the diocesan Distinguished Communicator Award to Magee Hickey of WCBS-TV News, a lady with family roots in Brooklyn. The 85 attendees also heard reflections on our Holy Father’s apostolic journey to our country by print and television journalist John Allen. As in past years, the media professionals shared conversation with one another on their experiences in covering important news events, and this year, most notably, on our Holy Father’s visit among us.

I take this opportunity to remind you of the Catholic Communication Campaign collection that will be taken up the weekend of May 17-18. The proceeds of this collection are used nationally and locally to further communications under the auspices of the Church. Your generosity will allow our own Diocese and the Bishops’ Conference to advance the cause of communication in our world.

When we communicate we always must reach out to others. It is like “putting out into the deep,” not knowing how our communication will be received. Again, the truth is critical because the truth has a power all of its own, and when we communicate the truth, eventually the message will reach its destination.