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WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY

Each year the Church focuses on a different them and encourages people to review their use of the media in the light of the Gospel. This year the theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI is "The Media: At the Crossroads between Self-Promotion and Service. Searching for the Truth in order to Share it with Others"

To mark the occasion, Bishop Philip Tartaglia, president of the Communications Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland has written the following letter.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The theme of this year's World Communications Day - "The Media: At the Crossroads between Self-Promotion and Service. Searching for the Truth in order to Share it with Others" - highlights the important role of the media in the life of individuals and society. As the Pope says in his message this year; “there is no area of human experience, especially given the vast phenomenon of globalization, in which the media have not become an integral part of interpersonal relations and of social, economic, political and religious development.”

The mass media today is pervasive, persuasive and all too often invasive.

Pope Benedict rightly acknowledges the contribution the media can make to the diffusion of news, to knowledge of facts and to the dissemination of information. At the same time the Pope warns that the mass media can be used for ideological purposes, and “can tend to legitimise or impose distorted models of personal, family or social life”. As Scottish Catholics, we know only too well how true this is, and we are keenly aware of how rarely our own media represents us as people of faith in a fair or balanced manner.

Today, mass communications can fairly be charged with losing the ethical underpinning that once existed. It is a sad reality that those involved in the production and dissemination of much of our media content do not themselves share the religious or moral perspectives of their audience. There has occurred a fundamental disconnection between the provider and the consumer. While the last national census showed that over two thirds of Scots described themselves as Christians, few of those who work in radio, television and the press share this identity.

How then can they understand what motivates and engages us? How can they provide us, their viewers, listeners and readers with appropriate content? The Pope suggests we need to introduce "info-ethics", just as we have bioethics in the field of medicine and scientific research.
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3rd Anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II

April 2 marks the third anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II.   To mark the event, Pope Benedict celebrated a special Mass in St Peter's Square in which he recalled his predecessor.

He said: "Just like three years ago just a short time has passed since Easter. The heart of the Church finds itself still submerged in the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord. [Pope John Paul] felt an extraordinary faith in Him, and with Him, he maintained an intimate, unique, uninterrupted conversation. It was enough to see him praying: he literally submerged himself in God and it seemed that everything else during those moments was left outside."

The Holy Father recalled how Karol Wojtyla suffered even in childhood. "Very soon he decided to carry it beside Jesus, following in his footsteps," the Pope said. "He wanted to be his faithful servant to the point of welcoming the call to the priesthood as a gift and a commitment for all of his life. With Him, he lived, and with Him, he wanted to die."

Benedict XVI recalled how "the words of the angel of the Resurrection, ('Be not afraid'), addressed to the women before the empty tomb became a type of motto on the lips of Pope John Paul II, since the solemn beginnings of his Petrine ministry."

"He repeated them on various occasions to the Church and to the world," the Pope continued. "He always pronounced them with inflexible firmness, first raising up [his] crosier predominated by the cross, and later, when his physical energies were weakening, nearly clinging to it, until that last Good Friday, in which he participated in the Way of the Cross from his private chapel, embracing within his arms the cross."

"That 'be not afraid' was not based on human strength, nor on successes accomplished, but rather, only on the word of God, on the cross and resurrection of Christ. In the degree in which he was being stripped of everything, at the end, even of his very words, this total surrender to Christ manifested itself with increasing clarity.

"As it happened to Jesus, also in the case of John Paul II, words gave way at the end to the ultimate sacrifice, to the gift of self. And death was the seal of an existence totally given to Christ, conformed to him even physically with the traits of suffering and trusting abandonment to the arms of the heavenly Father. 'Let me go to the house of the Father,' these words -- report those who were at his side -- were his last words, the fulfillment of a life totally oriented to knowing and contemplating the face of the Lord."

"Let us give thanks to God because he has given the Church this faithful and courageous servant," the Pope concluded. "And while we are offering for his chosen soul the redeeming Sacrifice, we ask him to continue interceding from heaven for each one of us, for me in a special way, who Providence has called to take up his inestimable spiritual heritage."

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Cathedral Cloister Garden Plans unveiled

Images of the new cloister garden planned for the open area to the east of St Andrew's Cathedral have been revealed. The plans show a traditional Italianate cloister garden with many modern features. The new space will offer meeting rooms, a gathering space and a café for parishioners and worshippers.

Entrance to the garden will be through doors on the east wall of the Cathedral (where the confessionals are currently placed). In the centre, there will be a grass and paving area with seating and a water feature. Large, mirrored plinths, with engraved quotes from poetry and sacred scripture will afford visitors the opportunity for reflection.

The end result will be a contemporary sacred space in the heart of the city.

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