Last Updated: Tuesday - 01/04/2011

Global forum for the Catholic press

International meeting of journalists focuses on media and globalization

FRIBOURG, SWITZERLAND — I was privileged to attend the triennial congress of UCIP (the International Catholic Union of the Press) here Sept. 19-23. I was the representative of Canadian Catholic News, the cooperative of the eight major English-speaking Catholic newspapers spread across Canada. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops paid my way.

Here are some reflections:

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UCIP has a history dating back to the 1920s. For much of that time it was European dominated. That has changed in recent years. The outgoing president was Theresa Ee Chooi of Malaysia whose election in Paris three years ago created something of a stir. The new president is Ismar de Oliveira Soares of Brazil who defeated an American and an Argentinian.

The largest delegation at the congress, besides that of Switzerland, came from Lebanon. Among the 437 Catholic journalists registered, other large groups came from Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy and Nigeria.

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The theme of the meeting was Media and Globalization. One keynote address by Plinio de Arruda Sampai of Brazil was a radical critique of mainstream mass media. Information is used by the powerful to manipulate the powerless, he said. Media is little more than the promotion of consumerism and the satisfaction of frivolous curiosity.

Hope can only come from alternative media, "the small daring local press," said Arruda. Signs of hope such as movements of landless peasants, those protesting in the streets against globalization and millions of homeless all need an alternative press.

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Another major speaker was Jean-Marie Messier, a young French transnational media entrepreneur. Messier, speaking in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the U.S., said the main task of the media should be to encourage religious toleration. It should encourage us to move beyond isolationism.

The country most identified with globalization, the U.S., is, in fact, the least globalized, he said. Eighty per cent of its citizens have never left their own country. The risk is that because of the terrorist attacks they will withdraw further into themselves. Toleration, Messier said, is a difficult word to use when people want to talk about war, punishment and revenge.

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The nine Americans at the congress, however, were definitely not using those sorts of words. The ones I spoke to hope that the U.S. response to terrorism will be surgical and will respect innocent lives. They were clearly deeply upset by the terrorist attacks but also by suggestions from some congress delegates that the U.S. had, in effect, brought the attacks upon itself.

Still, about 10 Americans scheduled to attend the congress did not come because of fears about making trans-Atlantic flights at this time.

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Delegates from nations with large Muslim populations, however, were concerned about the effect the terrorist attacks could have on Christian minorities in their countries. The Nigerians were most concerned about this, pointing out that while nations with Christian majorities granted freedom of worship to Muslims, that right is not always reciprocated in Muslim nations.

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For me, the high point of UCIP meetings are the friendships and conversations one shares with people from different cultures. I had the privilege of having interesting and informative discussions with people from Puerto Rico, Bangladesh, India, Quebec, the U.S., Brazil, Croatia, Hong Kong, Poland, the Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago, Switzerland and other countries.

I also missed the presence of a priest from Pakistan who at a 1997 UCIP meeting told me of the effects of the anti-blasphemy laws in his Muslim nation. I pray to God that he is alright.

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Along with its congresses every three years, UCIP hosts "refresher" and "exposure" sessions of about three weeks. These enable Catholic journalists to become more immersed in the situations of particular countries. In recent years, such sessions have been held in Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Croatia and Lebanon.

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My main concern with UCIP is its lack of effort to develop a life of prayer and worship. I had the privilege of attending the three-week World Council of Churches assembly in Vancouver in 1983 which, though packed with business and educational sessions, still had many worship services every day, displaying the rich religious and ethnic diversity of the churches and nations of the world. It was a moving time spiritually.

At UCIP, by contrast, we had but a couple of brief meditation sections, occasional mention of God and Jesus in talks, and a solemn Sunday high Mass at Fribourg's 700-year-old St. Nicholas Cathedral, none of which allowed much room for congregational participation.

In my opinion, it is time UCIP underwent a renewal in this area.

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Despite that concern, I believe UCIP is of high value to the world's Catholic press. Especially now, it has an important mission of encouraging global understanding and ethical reflection among Catholic journalists. The Catholic press can be an important voice for peace, development and religious understanding. Unfortunately, its activities - involving costly travel - do not receive the financial support they need.

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