The Pontifical Council for Social Communications ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Communicationibus Socialibus) was a

dicastery A dicastery (from gr, δικαστήριον, dikastērion, law-court, from Dikastes, δικαστής, 'judge, juror') is the name of some departments of the Roman Curia. ''Pastor bonus'' ''Pastor bonus'' (1988), includes this definition: ...

of the Roman Curia that was suppressed in March 2016 and merged into the Secretariat for Communications (now "

Dicastery for Communication The Dicastery for Communication ( it, Dicastero per la Comunicazione) is a division (dicastery) of the Roman Curia with authority over all communication offices of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Its various offices can be accessed thro ...

"). According to ''

Pastor bonus ''Pastor bonus'' (Latin: "The Good Shepherd") is an apostolic constitution promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988. It instituted a number of reforms in the process of running the central government of the Catholic Church. The docume ...

'',

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's 1988 apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, the council was "involved in questions regarding the means of

social communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

, so that, also by these means, human progress and the message of salvation may benefit secular culture and mores." It worked "to encourage and support" the Church and its members in social communication to imbue

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

"with a human and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

spirit."

History

First established by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

in 1948 and later given wider jurisdiction and new names by successive popes, most recently by John Paul II on 28 June 1988, it was responsible for using mass media to spread the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

.See also, It was established by the Secretariat of State as the Pontifical Commission for the Study and Ecclesiastical Evaluation of Films on Religious or Moral Subjects and was renamed the Pontifical Commission for Educational and Religious Films later that year. The commission was renamed to the Pontifical Commission for Cinema in 1952, to the Pontifical Commission for the Cinema, Radio and Television in 1954, and became a permanent office of the Secretariat of State in 1959. It was reorganized as the Pontifical Commission for Social Communications in April 1964. The commission was renamed ''Pontifical Council for Social Communications'' and promoted to a dicastery of the Roman Curia in March 1989. The council was suppressed in March 2016.

Publications

The and its predecessor bodies have published a number of statements on various topics connected with social communications, including: * * * * * * * *''Temas candentes. Respeto a la vida. Pornografía y violencia - Vida artificial - Homosexualidad''. (1989). Vatican City: Ediciones Paulinas/ Editorial Salesiana. * In addition, the PCSC helped to draft John Paul II's 2005 apostolic letter ''

The Rapid Development ''Il rapido sviluppo'' (''The Rapid Development'') is an apostolic letter signed by Pope John Paul II on 24 January 2005; it mainly addresses those who are involved in communications. He signed the letter on January 24, the feast day of Saint Fra ...

'', on technological changes in the media.

List of presidents

* * * * * *

References

External links

Official Vatican websiteThe Vatican YouTube Channel
{{Authority control Mass media in Vatican City Catholic media

Social Communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

Christian organizations established in 1948 Religious organizations disestablished in 2016 Catholic organizations established in the 20th century 1948 establishments in Italy 2016 disestablishments in Italy Former departments of the Roman Curia