Through their crafts of writing, editing or capturing the world on film, media workers must help break down the walls of hostility by fostering peace and understanding among peoples.

So wrote Pope John Paul II in his annual message for World Communications Day, released at the Vatican Jan 24, the feast of St Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists.

The pope underlined the power of the pen, saying words can “bring people together or divide them,” “forge bonds of friendship” or “provoke hostility”.

Theme of this year's message is The Communications Media: At the Service of Understanding Among Peoples .

The message's early release was aimed at prompting reflection ahead of World Communications Day, which in most dioceses is celebrated May 8, the Sunday before Pentecost.

The pope said that modern advances in communication have created limitless possibilities for doing good, spreading the Gospel, and “fostering harmony and reconciliation” among people across the world.

However, the mass media are vulnerable to misuse, causing “untold harm, giving rise to misunderstanding, prejudice and even conflict.”

There is an urgent need “to promote the unity of the human family” by using the vast resources of the mass media responsibly and ethically, he said.

Education provides an essential path to achieving this goal, the pope said.

“Accurate knowledge promotes understanding, dispels prejudice and awakens the desire to learn more,” especially concerning other parts of the globe and other cultures, he said.

Images, too, serve as powerful tools in teaching people “how to regard members of other groups and nations, subtly influencing whether they are considered as friends or enemies, allies or potential adversaries.”

The mass media can incorrectly represent other people through words or images steeped in hostility, the message said.

By demonising people from other social, ethnic or religious groups, the mass media can sow the seeds of conflict by fomenting fear and hatred, which “can all too easily escalate into violence, war or even genocide.”

Those in the public and private sector who are responsible for “the style and content of what is communicated have a grave duty to ensure that this does not happen,” the pope added.

He urged those involved in communications to learn and apply ethical and moral principles in living their own lives and in carrying out their work.

The basic principle underlying this ethical standard, he said, is “a genuine commitment to the common good” that “embraces the needs and interests of all,” and not just “the narrow interests of a particular group or nation.”

The pope's message read, “communication should be by persons to persons for the integral development of persons,” which should also include promoting “a true culture of life.”

Communicators have the possibility to distance themselves “from today's conspiracy against life” and convey “the truth about the value and dignity of every human person.”

(CNS)