Second Vatican Ecumenical Council
DECREE ON THE MEANS OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION - INTER MIRIFICA
Vatican II Inter Mirifica - 4 December 1963
1. Man's genius with God's help produced marvellous technical inventions from
creation, especially in our times. The Church, our mother, is particularly
interested in those which directly touch man's spirit and which have opened up
new avenues of easy communication of all kinds of news, of ideas and
orientations. Chief among them are those means of communication which of their
nature can reach and influence not merely single individuals but the very masses
and even the whole of human society. These are the press, the cinema, radio,
television and others of a like nature. These can rightly be called "the means
of social communication."
2. The Church, our mother, knows that if these media are properly used they can
be of considerable benefit to mankind. They contribute greatly to the
enlargement and enrichment of men's minds and to the propagation and
consolidation of the kingdom of God. But the Church also knows that man can use
them in ways that are contrary to the Creator's design and damaging to himself.
Indeed, she grieve with a mother's sorrow at the harm all to often inflicted on
society by their misuse.
This Sacred Synod shares the solicitude of popes and bishops in a matter of such
importance and feels that it is its duty to treat of the main problems posed by
the means of social communication.
CHAPTER I
3. the Catholic Church was founded by Christ our Lord to bring salvation to all
men. It feels obliged, therefore, to preach the gospel. In the same way, it
believe that its task involves employing the means of social communication to
announce the good news of salvation and to teach men how to use them properly.
It is the Church's birthright to use and own any of these media which are
necessary or useful for the formation of Christians and for pastoral activity.
Pastors of souls have the task of instructing and directing the faithful how to
use these media in a way that will ensure their own salvation and perfection and
that of all mankind.
For the rest, it will be principally for laymen to animate these media with a
Christian and human spirit and to ensure that they live up to humanity's hopes
for them, in accordance with God's design.
4. If the media are to be correctly employed, it is essential that all who use
them know the principles of the moral order and apply them faithfully in this
domain. They should take into account, first of all, the subject-matter, or
content, which each medium communicates in its own way. They should also take
account of the circumstances in which the content is communicated --- the
purpose, that is to say, the people, the place, the time, etc. The circumstances
can modify and even totally alter the morality of a production. In this regard,
particular importance may attach to the manner in which any given medium
achieves its effect. Its impact may be such that people, especially if they are
insufficiently prepared, will only with difficulty advert to it, control it, or,
if need be, reject it.
5. It is essential that all those involved should form a correct conscience on
the use of the media, especially with regard to certain issues which are
particularly controversial today.
The first of these issues is information, or the search for news and its
publication. Because of the progress of modern society and the increasing
interdependence of its members on one another, it is obvious that information is
very useful and, for the most part, essential. If news or facts and happenings
is communicated publicly and without delay, every individual will have permanent
access to sufficient information and thus will be enabled to contribute
effectively to the common good. Further, all of them will more easily be able to
contribute in unison to the prosperity and the progress of society as a whole.
There exists therefore in human society a right to information on the subjects
that are of concern to men either as individuals or as members of society,
according to each man's circumstances. The proper exercise of this right demands
that the content of the communication be true and --- within the limits set by
justice and charity --- complete. Further, it should be communicated honestly
and properly. This means that in the gathering and in the publication of news
the moral law and the legitimate rights and dignity of man should be upheld. All
knowledge is not profitable, but on the other hand "love builds" (1 Cor. 8:1).
6. The second question bears on the relation between the rights of art --- to
use a current expression --- and the moral law. The controversies to which this
problem increasingly gives rise frequently trace their origin to an erroneous
understanding either of ethics of aesthetics. The Council proclaims that all
must accept the absolute primacy of the objective moral order. It alone is
superior to and is capable of harmonizing all forms of human activity, not
excepting art, no matter how noble in themselves. Only the moral order touches
man in the totality of his being as God's rational creature, called to a
supernatural destiny. If the moral order is fully and faithfully observed, it
leads man to full perfection and happiness.
7. Lastly, the chronicling, the description or the representation of moral evil
can, with the help of the means of social communication and with suitable
dramatization, lead to a deeper knowledge and analysis of man and to a
manifestation of the true and the good in all their splendour. If, however, this
is to be more profitable than harmful to souls, the moral law must be rigorously
observed, especially when dealing with matters deserving of respect or with
matters that lead all to easily to base desires in man wounded by original sin.
8. Public opinion exercises enormous influence nowadays over the live, private
or public, of all citizens, no matter what their walk in life. It is therefore
necessary that all members of society meet the demands of justice and charity in
this domain. They should help, through the means of social communication, in the
formation and diffusion of sound public opinion.
9. Those who receive the means of social communication --- readers, viewers,
audiences --- do so of their own free choice. Special obligations rest on them
in consequence. A properly motivated selectivity would be wholly in favour of
whatever excels in virtue, culture and art. Likewise, it would avoid whatever
might be a cause or occasion of spiritual harm to the recipients or might be a
source of danger to others through bad example; it would avoid whatever might
hinder the communication of the good and facilitate the communication of what is
evil. This last usually occurs when financial help is given to those who exploit
the media solely for profit.
If they are to obey the moral law, those who use the media ought to keep
themselves informed in good time about assessments arrived at by the authorities
with competence in this sphere and to conform to them as a right conscience
would dictate. They should take appropriate steps to direct and form their
consciences so that they may more readily resist less wholesome influences and
profit more fully from the good.
10. Those who are at the receiving end of the media, and especially the young,
should learn moderation and discipline in their use of them. The should aim to
understand fully what they see, hear and read. The should discuss them with
their teachers and with experts in such matters and should learn to reach
correct judgments. Parents on their part should remember that it is their duty
to see that entertainments and publications which might endanger faith and
morals do not enter their houses and that their children are not exposed to them
elsewhere.
11. A special responsibility for the proper use of the means of social
communication rests on journalists, writers, actors, designers, producers,
exhibitors, distributors, operators, sellers critics --- all those, in a word,
who are involved in the making and transmission of communications in any way
whatever. It is clear that a very great responsibility rests on all of these
people in today's world: they have the power to direct mankind along a good path
or an evil path by the information they impart and the pressure they exert.
It will be for them to regulate economic, political and artistic values in a way
that will not conflict with the common good. To achieve this result more surely,
they will do well to form professional organizations capable of imposing on
their members --- if necessary by a formal pledge to observe a moral code --- a
respect for the moral law in the problems they encounter and in their
activities.
They should always be mindful ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Go to the beginning of the document
Go to previous page
Go to next page
Go to the end of document
