In Brief

Holy Father’s Intentions

Pope John Paul II has announced the following general and missionary intentions for October and November 2001:

October

That we may know how to recognize and respect the cultural and spiritual riches of the different ethnic groups and religious minorities present in every country.

That at the dawn of the third Christian millennium the missionary impetus of the first Pentecost may be renewed.

November

That holy and exemplary men and women may be our companions in proclaiming boldly the Gospel of the kingdom of God.

That, through the active participation of Christians, the mass media may become instruments of missionary evangelization.

Working In Faith

Working In Faith is a new apostolate for Catholics to help them more fully live their faith in the workplace. Based in Edmond, Oklahoma, the organization is working to accomplish its mission by offering fellowship, resources, and education in the Catholic faith through local, diocesan-level chapters, as well as the group’s website. Working In Faith helps people at organizational levels who may not be in a position to influence company direction, or those that work in small homes or offices, where living their faith in their working environment can be challenging.

For more information, call (405) 640-5039.

Word Games for Catholics

Gabriel Publications, distributors of word games for Catholic newspapers and magazines, has just published the first volume of Word Games for Catholics. The variety games book includes crosswords, word searches, acrostics, numbers games, twenty questions, missing alphabet, word builders, cryptograms, and other word puzzles. The word games range from the novice to the expert level. Each puzzle has a Catholic theme from the Bible, Catechism, the sacraments, liturgy, Church history, morality, and Catholic trivia.

For information, call toll-free (888) 462-3030, or write: Gabriel Publications, P.O. Box 4683, Louisville, KY 40204, or email gabrielpub1@aol.com, or visit www.wordgamesforcatholics.com.

U.S. Catholics Online

CNS reports that U.S. Catholics are more likely than other Americans to have Internet access, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), an independent Catholic research agency. While 56 percent of all Americans have Internet access according to one national study, CARA found that 64 percent of Catholics have access. Younger Catholics are more likely than older ones to connect to sites about religion. Use of the Internet for religious sites is especially high among teenagers, including those who do not attend church very often.

Ethics in Communications

Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, published guidelines in June 2000 on a broad range of issues in the field of social communication. “Great good and great evil come from the use people make of the media of social communication,” he begins his introduction in the document Ethics in Communications. The archbishop says that the Church has a “fundamentally positive, encouraging” approach to the use of modern communication technology. The Church “considers these instruments to be not only products of human genius but also great gifts of God.”

Social communication must serve the human person, the archbishop stated, and it does so in many ways—economic, political, cultural, educational, religious. But he also pointed out the abuses that exist, such as using the media “to build and sustain economic systems that serve acquisitiveness and greed,” politicians using media for “demagoguery and deception in support of unjust policies and oppressive regimes,” the entertainment media featuring “presentations of a corrupting, dehumanizing kind,” and the education media using “tools of indoctrination, with the aim of controlling what people know and denying them access to information the authorities do not want them to have,” which he says is “a perversion of genuine education.”

Archbishop Foley noted a “fundamental ethical principle”—that the “human person and the human community are the end and measure of the use of the media of social communication; communication should be by persons to persons for the integral development of persons.” A second principle he mentioned complements the first: “The good of persons cannot be realized apart from the common good of the communities to which they belong.”

On the right of a person to express himself, he said, a right of expression does not give one “a right to speak for the Church, or imply he or she does, unless properly designated; and personal opinions should not be presented as the Church’s teaching,” citing the Code of Canon Law.

In his closing remarks, Archbishop Foley stated: “As the third millennium of the Christian era begins, humankind is well along in creating a global network for the instantaneous transmission of information, ideas, and value judgments in science, commerce, education, entertainment, politics, the arts, religion, and every other field. . . . But despite their immense power, the means of communication are, and will remain, only media—that is to say: instruments, tools, available for both good and evil uses. The choice is ours. The media do not call for a new ethic; they call for the application of established principles to new circumstances. And this is a task in which everyone has a role to play.”

For the full text, click here.

Servants of the Gospel

The Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place this month. The Synod’s theme is “The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World” as it examines the vital role of bishop in the life of the Church. At the onset of a new millennium of the Christian era, the synod is calling for a renewed effort “to make the proclamation of salvation resound in the world.” It further states: “All Bishops are consecrated not just for one diocese, but for the salvation of the whole world.” This Synod of Bishops hopes “to offer the Church and the world the courageous, faithful proclamation of the Gospel of Christ,” who is, after all, the hope of all mankind.

Servants of the Gospel, an Emmaus Road publication, is a collection of 10 essays written by American bishops in anticipation of this Synod of Bishops. Contributors include Cardinal Francis George, Archbishops Charles J. Chaput and John J. Myers, and Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz. Servants of the Gospel can be ordered by Emmaus Road Publishing at (800) 398-5470 or by visiting its website at www.emmausroad.org.

Popes Hit the Chart

Vinnie Cacace of Boca Raton, Florida offers a chart containing pictures of all the popes from St. Peter to John Paul II. Cacace first discovered the pope chart at the Vatican bookstore. He began using it to evangelize in prison ministry, with a good deal of success. The pope chart also “makes the connection” for elementary students, and it generates excitement among them as well. Demand for the pope chart continues to increase. To meet this growing need, a website was established (www.popechart.com) where information on Cacace and the chart can be found. It’s a simple and unique way to evangelize, and it works!

For more information, call (561) 638-3224, or visit www.popechart.com.

Who’s Your Moral Compass?

The Catholic Communication Campaign has an ongoing project entitled, “Choosing Your Moral Compass.” The operation is a response to the moral dilemma many families face today. Each year the Catholic Communication Campaign brings videos, public service campaigns, documentaries, a website, and other value-driven programs to individuals and families. The “Choosing Your Moral Compass” campaign challenges families to make moral choices for their children every time they turn on the television set, rent a video, go to the movies, listen to radio, or use the Internet. If you’re in doubt about the quality of a movie, call the Movie Review Line at (800) 311-4CCC to help you in your choice of entertainment. If you’re traveling across the U.S. and need to locate a church to attend Mass, call (800) MASS TIMES.

For more information on the campaign, write Ramón Rodríguez at 3211 Fourth St., NE, Washington, DC 20017, or call (202) 541-3237, or visit www.nccbuscc.org/ccc.

United Catholic Music and Video Association

United Catholic Music and Video Association (U.C.M.V.A.) will hold its second International Unity Awards on December 1, 2001 at the Catholic University in Washington DC. The U.C.M.V.A. is a non-profit association formed in 1999 to support, encourage, and promote the development of all forms of Catholic-oriented Christian music and video, including liturgical, praise and worship, contemporary, classical, and instrumental compositions. This association is made up of Catholic composers, musicians, and video producers. As an umbrella organization, the U.C.M.V.A. provides for artists, producers, arrangers, retail stores, radio stations, concert promoters, diocese, parishes, and lay people to come together in their efforts to benefit the Church.

For information, write Phillip Stein at 808 Pershing St., PO Box 230, Donnellson, IA 52625, or call toll-free (877) 66-UCMVA, or visit www.ucmva.com.

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