Dear brothers and sisters, In recent decades, television has spearheaded a communications revolution which has profoundly affected family life. Today television is a primary source of news, information and entertainment for countless families, shaping their attitudes and opinions, their values and patterns of behavior.
Television can enrich family life.
It can draw family members closer together and foster their solidarity with other families and with the community at large. It can increase not only their general knowledge but also their religious knowledge, making it possible for them to hear God's word, to strengthen their religious identity and to nurture their moral and spiritual life. Even when television programs themselves are not morally objectionable, television can still have negative effects on the family. In this message, I wish especially to highlight the responsibilities of parents, of the men and women of the television industry, of public authorities, and of those with pastoral and educational duties in the church. In their hands lies the power to make television an ever more effective medium in helping families to fulfill their roles as a force for moral and social renewal.