As did the Second Vatican Council, which exactly 50 years ago, approved the "Inter Mirifica" decree.
But proof of an attitude born of its time, of attention coupled with lack of understanding, the document that begins "among the wonderful technological discoveries which men of talent, especially in the present era, have made with God's help... " is the "non approval" of the entire assembly. It has 164 votes against it, the largest number of "non placet" of the entire Council. And just a few days before, on November 25, that number was 503.
Moreover, as far as we know, the 9348 proposals which in 1960 were part of the topics to be addressed in the Council, only 18 made any reference to the means of social communication.
And yet the Council was attempting to demonstrate the importance it could have for the Church, as given the widespread global interest in the development of mass communications.
But more than a lack of understanding towards the "marvelous invention" among the Council Fathers who vetoed the document was the belief that it was an "inappropriate" topic from a theological prospective, for discussion in a council.
The decree, in fact, seemed dated from its very inception, given that it also hypothesized future developments that indeed there will be: from the 1971 pastoral instruction "Communio et Progressio" of the Pontifical Commission for Social Communications, to the Apostolic Letter "Rapid development "of John Paul II (2005).
Notwithstanding these limitations, Inter Mirifica states some important principles regarding the relationship between the Church and the media, starting with the fact that the Church has the right to use the media for its ministry and must ensure an appropriate moral use according to its teachings. In note 3, we read "(...) it is, therefore, an inherent right of the Church to have at its disposal and to employ any of these media insofar as they are necessary or useful for the instruction of Christians and all its efforts for the welfare of souls. It is the duty of Pastors to instruct and guide the faithful so that they, with the help of these same media, may further the salvation and perfection of themselves and of the entire human family."
A decade later, in 1975, the apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Nuntiandi" of Paul VI, referring to the media, states that "when they are put at the service of the Gospel, they are capable of increasing almost indefinitely the area in which the Word of God is heard; they enable the Good News to reach millions of people"(45).
The unexpectedly rapid evolution of the media has also seen many contributions of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, in particular in the messages for the World Day of Social Communications, first outlined by Inter Mirifica. Which certainly could not have foreseen the internet and social media, the most recent of which, Twitter, Benedict XVI is now starting to use.
And " Social Networks: Portals of Truth and Faith; New Spaces for Evangelization" is the theme chosen by Benedict XVI for the next, 47th World Day of Social Communications. "It is no longer to use the Internet as a 'means' of evangelization - reads a statement from the Council for Social Communications - but to evangelize given that the life of modern man is also expressed in the digital environment."
It seems that this limited view of social communications as a mere 'tool', moreover one conditioned by an invincible clericalism, has finally been overcome. As the late Card. Martini wrote in his "Lembo del mantello" (1991)
"The media is no longer a TV screen to be looked at or a radio to be listened to. It is an atmosphere, an environment in which we are immersed, that surrounds us and penetrates us from all sides. We are in this world of sounds, images, colors, pulse and vibration like the primitive was immersed in the forest, like a fish in water. This is our environment, the media is a new way of being alive".