Provincial Convention 2008: Communications Oral Report

Submitted by: Sandra Stajduhar

Madame President,

The growth in the means and power of communicating – the media – brings with it a great responsibility. This was addressed in Pope Benedict’s message to the 42nd World Communications Day – that there is a need for “info-ethics” in communications given the “extraordinary potential” as well as the “appalling possibilities for evil”. The Pope prayed for communicators to be “authentic witnesses to the truth”.

Also from Zenit, an interview with talk show host Teresa Tomeo discusses how families need to guard against the effects of the ever-encroaching secular media – that culture is forming our faith, not the other way around. The good news is that there is a growth in Catholic media.The influence of the internet is apparent everywhere, and access to it is becoming a necessity. There is a wealth of information available to us. However, we can not accept everything as factual – when you “google” for information, you often get people’s opinions – not necessarily ‘truth’. We need to do our homework and check our sources. We all need to assess our own family’s media habits – content as well as time spent. We must continue to monitor all forms of the media and ask for accountability.

I hope that you are all familiar with C.A.S.E. (Canadians Addressing Sexual Exploitation), and that you will continue to work with them during their “Ribbon of Signatures” campaign. We need the CRTC to regulate content on the internet, and to ensure that internet service providers monitor and police the use of its services – to protect our children from on line predators and pornography.

A highlight of my term has been the development of our provincial website – www.cwl.bc.ca. It has been updated, and is an attractive and valuable website. One new feature is that we can now “blog” – register and add our comments on articles and communiqués. There is also the opportunity for each diocese to have their own website or at the least a page to publicize events and inform their members. I look forward to the site’s continued growth. We owe many thanks to Rebecca G……… for accepting the challenge and doing a great job. Unfortunately, Rebecca could not be with us at this convention. Please take the time to check out the site and send Rebecca your thoughts and appreciation.

Two years ago, I was gifted with the Communications Committee, and had no clear idea of the scope of possibilities. It has been educational and interesting, and proof once again that when we accept the challenge of League work we gain far more than we give. Thank-you.