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Buenos Aires, Sunday, May 20, 2007

Father Oscar Pezzarini

Children and Mass Media

Since 1967 on the Sunday of the Lord's Ascension the Church also celebrates the World Social Communication Day as an invitation to reflect on the use of mass media at the service of good and of truth, and to pray for this use. It is sad to see how in the media children are often “used” at any cost to achieve goals which refer only to their economic benefit, to achieve “success” by whatever means, without taking into account if in the end children and youths are even destroyed. Let us reflect on the use we put the different media, but on the use we put them in our families, in our environment, in the first place by us adults, so we later may be careful and promote and educate our children and youths in the proper use of these media.

Since 1967 on the Sunday of the Lord's Ascension the Church also celebrates the World Social Communication Day as an invitation to reflect on the use of mass media at the service of good and of truth, and to pray for this use.

Every year the Pope sends a message to the Church and to all Men inviting to this reflection. This year the title of this message and therefore the reason for reflection is “Children and the Media: A Challenge for Education”.

Children must be educated in media use, and the media must be formed so they in turn can educate children. Pope Benedict XVI expresses it like this: “The relationship of children, media, and education can be considered from two perspectives: the formation of children by the media; and the formation of children to respond appropriately to the media. A kind of reciprocity emerges which points to the responsibilities of the media as an industry and to the need for active and critical participation of readers, viewers and listeners. Within this framework, training in the proper use of the media is essential for the cultural, moral and spiritual development of children.”.

The Pope also mentions the responsibility of parents, schools, and the Church itself in the education of children in the proper use of the media.

There is no doubt that in first place children must be educated and encouraged in the proper use of the media by means of the example of adults.

It is sad to see how in the media children are often “used” at any cost to achieve goals which refer only to their economic benefit, to achieve “success” by whatever means, without taking into account if in the end children and youths are even destroyed.

I also think that the media just praise and promote our own weakness and misery instead of promoting and giving incentives to deep values, those which must be instilled since early childhood.

In his message the Pope will also refer to programs, movies, videogames, etc. which only “exalt violence and portray anti-social behaviour”.

Let us reflect on the use we put the different media, but on the use we put them in our families, in our environment, in the first place by us adults, so we later may be careful and promote and educate our children and youths in the proper use of these media.

Father Oscar Pezzarini
Provincial Superior of the Work of Don Orione in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Mexico

Father Oscar Pezzarini together with Fr. Leonardo Abregú makes us reflect on Saturdays from 8 to 12 AM (GMT-03:00)with "VENTANA A LA VIDA", the Don Orione radio program he conducts on FM PROVIDENCIA, 90.3 MHz together with some residents of the Claypole Cottolengo (Raúl Romero, María Laura Andrada, Alberto Zoroch, Américo Torres), with the production of Roberto Beluzzo and Ignacio Cavalli as technical operator. You can also listen to FM PROVIDENCIA by clicking here.

Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione 0800-333-6746 in Argentina, or +54 (11) 4268-7722 from abroad.

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