"Every year, on the occasion of World Communication Day, the Pope sends a special message. For the last six years, those messages focused on the current state of the communications and public rela
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tions, have been sent by the pope Francis. Already in 1957, when the pope Pius XII presented media as “wonderful inventions” and “gifts from God,” the Catholic Church became more open to the use of media for public outreach. Stressing the dangers that occur in public relations and media, The Pontifical Council for Social Communications published in 2002 two documents: Ethics in Internet and The Church and Internet. Those documents present the cyberspace as a “new adventure” not being deprived of dangers. On the occasion of the 48th World Communication Day, pope Francis sent an encouraging message to the Church, inviting its members to “boldly become citizens of the digital world.” In such a context, this paper explores the need for crisis communication in situations, especially referring to the Church and its members being accused of corruption and scandals, often in a biased and exclusionary way." (Abstract)
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"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
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social communication Communio et Progressio, officially dated May 23, 1971. The instruction was demanded 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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"Many women and men professionally engaged in advertising do have sensitive consciences, high ethical standards and a strong sense of responsibility. But even for them external pressures — from the clients who commission their work as well as fro
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m the competitive internal dynamics of their profession — can create powerful inducements to unethical behavior. That underlines the need for external structures and systems to support and encourage responsible practice in advertising and to discourage the irresponsible. Voluntary ethical codes are one such source of support. These already exist in a number of places. Welcome as they are, though, they are only as effective as the willingness of advertisers to comply strictly with them. "It is up to the directors and managers of the media which carry advertising to make known to the public, to subscribe to and to apply the codes of professional ethics which already have been opportunely established so as to have the cooperation of the public in making these codes still better and in enforcing their observance." We emphasize the importance of public involvement. Representatives of the public should participate in the formulation, application and periodic updating of ethical codes. The public representatives should include ethicists and church people, as well as representatives of consumer groups. Individuals do well to organize themselves into such groups in order to protect their interests in relation to commercial interests." (Conclusion, page 20)
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