Wednesday, April 06, 2011

'Courtyard' deserved more publicity, journalist says

The “Courtyard of the Gentiles” held in Paris last week provided some fascinating addresses, but “exposed a gaping deficit on the level of communication,” reports Vatican-watcher Sandro Magister of L’Espresso

Although the “Courtyard” initiative was highly touted at the Vatican, there was no effort to inform the media about the events in Paris, notes Magister. 

The speakers’ texts were not provided, nor was a press office established. 

Even today, nothing about the event is visible on the Vatican web site.

This invisibility is unfortunate, Magister says, because the quality of addresses was high. He cites a former Czech ambassador to France, who spoke about serving under the crushing ideology of Communism. 

A French philosopher, Farice Hadjadi, added a provocative critique of UNESCO—delivered right at that organization’s headquarters.