VATICAN: Pope Benedict XVI, in the first formal message of his pontificate directed at the media, said yesterday that it should not be self-serving or profit-driven.
Instead, it should be accountable to the common good and promote human values.
"Authentic communication demands principled courage and resolve," the Pope said in a message for the church's annual World Day of Communications, set for May 28th.
"This requires a determination of those in the media not to wilt under the weight of so much information, nor even to be content with partial or provisional truths," he said.
"Instead, it necessitates both seeking and transmitting what is the ultimate foundation and meaning of human, personal and social existence. In this way the media can contribute constructively to the propagation of all that is good and true."
In the message, issued on the feast day of St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists, Pope Benedict said that the media had to avoid oversimplifying things and undervaluing cultural differences and religious beliefs.
"These are distortions that occur when the media industry becomes self-serving or solely profit-driven," he said.
The media were always obliged to report events accurately, to fully explain matters of public concern and give fair representation to diverse views.
"The need to uphold and support marriage and family life is of particular importance, precisely because it pertains to the foundation of every culture and society," he added. - (Reuters)