ME and Ophelia

_______________________________________________________________

POPE SAYS MEDIA DAMAGING FAMILIES
Pope's advice to parents is a pro-active approach

"All communication has a moral dimension... People grow or diminish in moral stature by the words which they speak and the messages which they choose to hear" - Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II has called on governments across the world to ensure that family life is not weakened by the growth of communications media. He said in an age where many families had access to immense and varied media resources, parents needed to regulate how their children used it.

In his statement issued in advance of World Communications Day on 23 May, the Pope once again emphasised traditional Catholic teaching on the family and human relationships. He criticised those in the communications industry who were promoting values detrimental to the common good of society. Although the Pope made clear he was not supporting censorship, he is advocating a more pro-active approach by those who hold his conservative values.

He urged parents to closely supervise what their children saw and heard, be more critical of messages which could undermine the family, and to be outspoken when it came to telling producers and governments what they liked and disliked. And as for governments, he said they needed to involve what he described as family representatives in the regulation of the media, so they did not act against the good of the family.

Source courtesy BBC Pope says media damaging families