ROME, SEPT. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A former Vatican official synthesized what some are beginning to call the "theology of communication" in a phrase: "God is truth and God is love -- and both demand communication."
Archbishop John Foley, retired president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, made these remarks Friday while inaugurating a five-day meeting of experts in theology and communication.
Archbishop Foley explained that "the very essence of our faith is bound up with communication -- the communication, indeed the communion, of Father, Son and Spirit; the communication of being in creation; communication through revelation; the communication of the Word who became flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and become man."
The archbishop, now the pro-grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, also recalled the "sublime communication" of holy Communion in which one receives the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
"While I am no longer officially associated with the work of communications in the Church, no one is ever distant from the essential work of communication and of exemplifying and teaching the truth about Jesus," the 71-year-old prelate said. "Communication and its dignity are essential not only […] in interpersonal life, but also in relationship with God."
During the meeting, theologians and communicators from various centers and disciplines are sharing their views on the theology of communication in a seminar organized by the Pontifical Gregorian University under the auspices of its Interdisciplinary Center for Social Communication.
ZE07091134 - 2007-09-11