"On June 3, 1971, a new document on social communication was presented by Gordon G. Cardinal Gray (Edinburgh) to journalists at the Vatican Press Hall. The document was the pastoral instruction for social communication Communio et Progressio, officially dated May 23, 1971. The instruction was demand
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ed by the Vatican II Decree on Social Communication, Inter Mirifica (1963), saying: “The Council expressly directs the Commission of the Holy See to publish a Pastoral Instruction, with the help of experts from various countries to ensure that all principles and rules of the Council on the means of social communication be put into effect” (no. 23). The background to this is the fact that the Council Fathers were originally presented with a document of 114 paragraphs which they felt would go beyond their own knowledge of the field. They, therefore, proposed a document with the essentials – the now Inter Mirifica decree – with only 24 paragraphs to be extended for practical use through a Pastoral Instruction and to be elaborated by the Pontifical Commission for Social Communications with the help of experts. The new document, however, could only be published some seven years after Inter Mirifica. This long interval can be interpreted as an indication of a serious and thorough production process participated in especially by professional Catholic media organizations together with additional experts." (Page 1)
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"God's self-communication is the source of human life and human communication. The divine self-communication shows itself in the Trinity, the revelation, the Incarnation, and embodied in the Church is the grammar of communication theology. Such a theology should be a formation program in Church's th
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eological institutes, especially in the priestly formation. Further, communication theology leads to deepening the dimensions of communication in all different theological disciplines in order to fecundate the respective fields of those disciplines. It helps Christian communicators to form dispositions in communicating with other people from different social backgrounds, cultures and religions. Based on God's communication, Christians can develop a proper attitude in the process of social communication in order to contribute to the improvement and unity of human society (CeP, no. 1). It gives enlightening insights to those who concern themselves with human social communication. In turn, studying communication theology, one will be led to a commimicative exchange with other sciences like anthropology, culturology, psychology, sociology, etc. In this way, the Church can effectively face the challenges and problems of social communication in the modem world of today, especially when she will give orientation and direction to young people who are the most affected persons in living under the influence of modem communication. In Christian understanding one can say: we may miss communicate, but we cannot not commimicate because human beings are created by a communicating God, in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26). Communication must happen for the sake of human unity among themselves and with God, their constantly communicating God." (Conclusion, page 35-36)
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"This textbook is a wide-ranging introduction to the theology of communication, written by the executive secretary of the Social Communications Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI). The primary aim is to help develop the capacity to understand social communication from the p
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erspective of pastoral leadership. Communication is viewed from various theological and sociological disciplines, ranging from 'Jesus Christ the communicator' or 'liturgy as communication' to 'God, media and popular culture' and 'narrative theology'. The book emphasises pastoral communication and includes sessions on preaching, evolving effective strategies and plans, networking and integrating communications into one’s ministry. It forms part of the 'Communications for Pastoral Leadership' formation programme of CBCI." (CAMECO Update 1-2011)
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"[...] This book is not necessarily an effort at a highly theoretical exploration but a deeply practical application of the power of communication for updating and renewal of the universal church, more particularly that of India. The phenomenon of Church becoming irrelevant and abandon
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ed in the modern world is the backdrop of the whole study as Srampickal has chosen. So in the first part he makes a self-reflection and critical observation of the present day Church ministry styles and explores more into the background of mental attitudes and value systems sustainedby the church leadership and zealous missionary workers. The defective strategy and style of Church’s communication is found as the root reason for this. The challenge and chances of developing a Communication Theology is the first part of his positive exposition. When the Church becomes a real communicating community the envisioned spiritual ideologies of Christ, will be accepted and appreciated by the global society. He observes that the Church has produced excellent documents regarding communications in the world. Only problem he identifies is that they are practiced neither in the higher official levels nor in the ordinary practical levels. How can this be corrected through the smart and balanced utilization of modern media technology is elaborated in the second part. His thesis that ‘Communications Can Renew the Church’ is convincingly proved with ease and excellence in this book. For him communication is all about more participation of all in managing the church which can surely create a sense of belonging and intimate relations within the church." (Book review by John Edappilly, in: Asian Horizons, vol 4, nr 2, pages 379-380)
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"On the basis of a thorough review of the growing literature on the mobile phone and the cultures it inspires, Goliama highlights the ambivalent nature of mobile cultures for the Roman Catholic Church's evangelization mission in Africa. He argues not only for the continued merits of face-to-face com
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munication for the Church's pastoral approach in the African context. He points to how this could be enriched by a creative appropriation of the mobile phone as a tool for theological engagement, in its capacity to shape cultures in ways amenable to the construction of a Cell phone Ecclesiology. Such emergent mobile cultural values include the tendency of mobile users to transcend social divides, to promote social interconnectedness, and to privilege the question 'where are you?" (Publisher description)
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"This book serves as a primer on Church teachings and practices concerning communication issues. It is in fact a quite condensed text on nearly every aspect of Church communication. Eilers views communication as a theological principle that "guides and directs the way we see, study, and live our Chr
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istian faith in a time when communication is central to human society" (Page 23). The first part is a rapid march through "communication spirituality," a comparison of the way the Church and media operate and a discussion of the way they relate to each other; ethical models of communication; the contributions of the Church to communication in society; and citation of numerous papal encyclicals and other Church pronouncements on communication. The book's longest section is its discussion of Pastoral Communication, covering preaching and liturgy as well as communication planning, the specifities of different communication means from interpersonal communication to multimedia, and parish, diocesan and national communication. The final unit deals with evangelizing communication with an emphasis on the importance of understanding its inter-cultural aspects, especially in non-Western cultures. Eilers offers suggestions for using traditional means of communications such as drama, song, pilgrimages for evangelization, and he stresses the importance of inter-religious dialogue." (CAMECO Update 3-2009)
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"This is the latest edition of the textbook especially written for seminary and religious communication formation. It is also published in India and has translations in Italian and Bahasa Indonesia. A Spanish translation is underway. New ideas are infused in a chapter “New media communication.”
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The history of communication is extended to the evolution of digitized media, satellites and Internet. Updated statistics on mass media penetration worldwide also add up to a comprehensive understanding of communication, and its influence on the Church’s essential mission. The book’s strength lies in the theology of communication expounded, and in practical explanation of human communication theories and concepts." (Publisher description)
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