THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON TRUTH FOR THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNICATIONS FOR RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF APOSTOLIC LETTER OF JOHN PAUL II
BY
PAUL IKECHUKWU OGUJIOFFOR
Introduction
Christ is the Incarnate Word which was communicated to the world by the annunciation of Archangel Gabriel to our Blessed Virgin Mother of God and this message was received with a Fiat by Mary (cfr. Lk.1:26-38) and she communicated same Word by the birth of Christ (cfr. Lk.2:1-20) to the world for the salvation of all. Christ is communication par excellence, for He is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” Jn.14:6. We ought to know and accept Him before ever we are able to communicate Him to others.
Communication devoid of Christ is unspiritual, unethical, unsocial, and un-educational. Therefore, such communication lacks basic informational content and is non-communicational, empty in mass media character and is a “junk message” in the spiritual, moral, social, cultural and academic world. Communication that is truthful is Trinitarian and Christ-like, loving, communal or community orientated. Communication of Christ is Eucharistic, pastoral, sanctifying, redemptive and paschal, because it is Incarnated Word and renews the life of man as many times as possible through the power of Word made flesh visible and concrete in an invisible sacramental signs of grace. This is spiritual enlightenment that dispels the darkness of lies and the father of liars. In this form we experience the ecclesial dimension of the truthful communication by the powerful media, whereby the Word is disseminated into the world for Christ commanded that we should “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” Mk.16:15. This is the pastoral and missionary dimension of truthful communication which brings about the positive development and responsible progress in the whole human person as a common good in form of re-orientation spiritually, morally, academically, socially, culturally and proper relationship which solves the fundamental options of formation, participation and dialogue governed by the communicative power of the Holy Spirit. Within this few pages we shall present a research theological reflection on truth for those responsible for communications for rapid development of Apostolic Letter of John Paul II.
Communication is not just a mere word but a reality in the person of God. This is intrinsic in the nature of God. “Truth is in God’s intellect properly and first (proprie et primo); in human intellect it is present properly and derivatively (proprie quidem et secundario)”[1]. In conclusion we arrive at succinct formula, God is “ipsum summa et prima veritatis - truth itself, the sovereign and first truth”[2]. “This formula brings us close to what Jesus means when he speaks of truth, when he says that his purpose in coming into the world was to ‘bear witness to the truth’. Again and again in the world, truth and error, truth and untruth, are almost inseparably mixed together…Man becomes more true; he becomes himself, when he grows in God’s likeness. Then he attains to his proper nature. God is the reality that gives being and intelligibility. ‘Bearing witness to the truth’ means giving priority of God and to his will over against the interests of the world and its powers. God is the criterion of being. In this sense, truth is the real king that confers light and greatness upon all things. We may also say that bearing witness to the truth means making creation intelligible and its truth accessible from God’s perspective-the perspective of creative reason-in such a way that it can serve as a criterion and signpost in this world of ours, in such a way that the great and the mighty are exposed to the power of truth, the common law, the law of truth”[3]. In view of these, “besides denoting the epistemic validity of one’s knowledge and the intrinsic knowability of being, truth can also denote a property of one’s communicative expressions, the words, deeds, or products by which one purports to inform other persons of something. Communicational truth is the fidelity to one’s own knowledge that one intends for those expressions by which one both purports and aims to inform. The non-dialectical opposite of truth in this sense is communicational non-truth, the simple absence of intended fidelity to one’s own knowledge, the characteristic feature of those expressions by which one does not purport to inform. The dialectical opposite is communicational untruth or mendacity, the presence of intended infidelity to one’s own knowledge, the characteristic feature of those expressions by which one purports to inform but aims to deceive”[4]
Prof. JUAN RAMÓN AREITIO in discussing the ethics of communication sees it as a wide topic, ranging from the technological, political or social ambient but if it lacks spiritual and moral backing is nothing worth a communication. This is because public opinion many a time has accepted lying as a normal part of life. Many believed that nothing is wrong with lying since everyone lies. The world seems to function just fine with this state of affairs, this adds to the difficulty of teaching an ethics of communication. Information technology has added another realm that needs much attention. To live in the truth, brings another form of communication and testimony- testimony to the life of faith. A person who professes faith but does not live according to that faith is giving false communication, in a sense he is lying. One area that will need further research also is that of art. Truth in art effects not only the building of Churches but also all forms of art used in daily life such as advertising, games etc
Furthermore, the Eucharist is the fuller presence of Christ in the Mass and should not be made to look equal to the Scripture for Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. The morality of the Church is not merely, 'do not lie’; it is 'live in the truth'. The truth is not only something to protect but to promote and to live. Augustine based his theory on the Trinity. The Father speaks a Word and that Word is Christ and Christ is the Truth, the Way and the Life. We are made in the image of the God. The image of God in us is the Reason. If God speaks truth then we should speak truth. To lie would be to mar the image of God in us. The truth must be seen also as a self donation and not just as truth telling. According to the Catechism 2464-2513, the basis of the necessity of telling the truth is the dignity of God primarily and humans secondarily. Our lives must reflect the holiness of God; therefore we need to live in the truth. Man protects the truth and has a natural capacity for the truth.
Telling a truth in order to embarrass someone in public is an evil in most cases. Communication is more than mere truth-telling. It must include also the communication of goodness and beauty. Telling the truth does not mean that one has to tell the whole world everything. The 'end' for which the truth is told is essential to the morality of the truth telling. The means of communication are developing so quickly that we can only speak of prudent principles. Issues: communicate of information, promotion of culture, communication-formation-and manipulation, Communication and the common good, friendship, moderation and discipline, relation between consumer and producer of mass communication.
Art and Truthfulness: Beauty is another aspect of genuine and 'truthful' communication. Art itself most express truth and charity. The Good, True and Beautiful are not separable. Beauty indicates or can be used to convince of Truth and present things as Good. God is the author of beauty, truth and goodness. These three are constitutive of all reality. Art communicates the message of the artist. His intentions can be good or bad. It is not sufficient just to use the new media, and new language to express the Gospel but to think in a more profound manner in order to interpret more deeply the truths of the Good News.
Regarding Professionalism and Faith, the presence of the faith without a witness of the faith serves nothing. Faith and professionalism need to go together. The people’s faith should shine through by the quality of their work. The quality of communication should be a testimony itself to the faith. Professionalism without faith is just as problematic as faith without professionalism. We need solid lay catholic professionals in the field of communications. There has to be a respect for diversity of transmitting the message. There needs to be a transparency and coherence between the faith and the mediums of communication. The medium should not betray the message and the message should use the best mediums in the best way.
The call for sincerity in communication brought about truthful words and action in the developing world of communication. This is exactly the summary of the Apostolic Letter that communication based on mere human knowledge and his exposition of his ingenuity without finding any root in Christ in totally non-communicational matter, ipso facto a bundle of untruthful propositions.
Communication is ever clear and distinct. For it s proper apostolate we need not to be afraid to communicate because Christ promised to be with us, “I am with you always till the end of the world” Mt.28:20. Therefore, the message of communication as an Incarnate Word is eschatological, sanctifying and love, which has its objective as salvific and redemptive. To communicate oneself for selfish motive is very bad. Prudence is mostly needed in the communication of ordinary truth be it to the world or an individual.
[1] S.T., De Veritatis., q. 1, a. 4c.
[2] S.T., Summa Theologiae I, q. 16, a. 5c.
[3] BENEDICT XVI, Jesus of Nazareth. Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2011 p.192-193.
[4] VERTIN M., “Truth” in KOMONCHAK J. A-COLLINS M-LANE D. A (eds.), The New Dictionary of Theology, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville-Minnesota, 1987 p.1063.
