(Vatican 2015-05-28 ) “Good communication is always a human rather than a technical achievement.” That was at the heart of an address given by the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Monsignor Paul Tighe, on Wednesday to the World Summit on the Information Society, during their 2015 session for High-Level Policy Statements, which is currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland.
Speaking to Vatican Radio following his speech, Monsignor Tighe said he wanted to stress that, it was important to avoid the presumption that “just because the technologies are there we are going to have a better sense of the unity of the human family or that solidarity and development are automatically going to happen.” He said that what he wanted to underline was the view taken by Pope Francis that, “ultimately, at heart is good communications and good communications is always a human rather than a technical achievement.”
Asked whether he thought that people should be thinking in terms of “responsible communications”, he said, the term was appropriate because he added, “I would be nervous if people thought that technology alone could achieve the goods that we want to achieve. It’s going to require responsible determination and choices by individuals.”
Looking to the future and addressing how the Vatican media and its multimedia platform can be at the forefront of “good communications”, the Council Secretary said, that “we need to make sure that we’re able to present our teachings our ideas, our perspectives in ways that are going to properly be present in a very different kind of environment. So, I think the challenge for us is always about trying to find ways of being able to speak about our core values…”
He also said that, “we are lucky in the Vatican to have so many very strong well prepared very highly motivated professional communicators and technicians”, I think it’s to ensure that we can find a way that we can all work together to be ever more powerfully the voice and the presence of the Church in the emerging digital arenas.”
World Summit on the Information Society continues through to May 29th.
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Asked whether he thought that people should be thinking in terms of “responsible communications”, he said, the term was appropriate because he added, “I would be nervous if people thought that technology alone could achieve the goods that we want to achieve. It’s going to require responsible determination and choices by individuals.”
Looking to the future and addressing how the Vatican media and its multimedia platform can be at the forefront of “good communications”, the Council Secretary said, that “we need to make sure that we’re able to present our teachings our ideas, our perspectives in ways that are going to properly be present in a very different kind of environment. So, I think the challenge for us is always about trying to find ways of being able to speak about our core values…”
He also said that, “we are lucky in the Vatican to have so many very strong well prepared very highly motivated professional communicators and technicians”, I think it’s to ensure that we can find a way that we can all work together to be ever more powerfully the voice and the presence of the Church in the emerging digital arenas.”
World Summit on the Information Society continues through to May 29th.