The Pontifical Council for Social Communications () was a

dicastery A dicastery (; ; from ) is the name of some departments in the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest C ...

of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

that was suppressed in March 2016 and merged into the Secretariat for Communication (now the

Dicastery for Communication The Dicastery for Communication (, ) is a department (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 through its website. These are the ...

). According to '' Pastor bonus'',

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's 1988

apostolic constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...

on the

, the council was "involved in questions regarding the means of

social communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not only transmit ...

, 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 include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

"with a human and

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

spirit."

History

First established by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

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 Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

.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'', 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 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