[WSIS CS-Plenary] Holy See on I.T.

[Robert Guerra]

http://theschoolofmary.blogspot.com/2005/10/holy-see-on-it.html

  Holy See on I.T.

     Holy See's Address on Information Technologies
     "The Right to Communicate Is the Right of All"

     NEW YORK, OCT. 18, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of an  
address delivered by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See's  
permanent observer to the United Nations, last Thursday before the  
U.N. General Assembly commission on "Questions Relating to information."

     Mr. Chairman,

     The Holy See recognizes the right to information and its  
importance in the life of all democratic societies and institutions.  
The exercise of the freedom of communication should not depend upon  
wealth, education or political power. The right to communicate is the  
right of all. Freedom of expression and the right to information  
increase and develop in societies when the fundamental ethics of  
communication are not compromised, such as the pre-eminence of truth  
and the good of the individual, the respect for human dignity, and  
the promotion of the common good.

     Furthermore, new technologies have an important role to play in  
the advancement of the poor. As with health and education, access to  
the wealth represented by communications would certainly benefit the  
poor, as recipients of information to be sure, but also as actors,  
able to promote their own point of view before the world's decision  
makers.

     Given the ever increasing ease of access to information of every  
possible kind, the Holy See also stresses the need to protect the  
most vulnerable, such as children and young people, especially in the  
light of the increase of content featuring violence, intolerance and  
pornography.

     Perhaps the most essential question raised by technological  
progress is whether, as a result of it, people will grow in dignity,  
responsibility and openness to others.

     In this context, the Holy See has set up a unique continentwide  
initiative called the Digital Network of the Church in Latin America  
("Red Informática de Iglesia en America Latina" -- RIIAL) which  
promotes the adoption of digital technologies and programs in media  
education, especially in poor areas. The success of this project has  
drawn the attention of the Observatory for Cultural and Audiovisual  
Communication in the Mediterranean and in the World (OCCAM) and other  
international organizations. The Holy See also supports the continued  
promotion of the traditional role of libraries and radios in formation.

     It is to be hoped that the Second Phase of the U.N. World Summit  
on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held in Tunis shortly, will  
lead to further concrete efforts to build a more inclusive digital  
society which will reduce the widespread "info-poverty." It would be  
well if a new dynamic were created which goes beyond the political  
and commercial logic usually at play in these fields.

     My delegation believes that the Information Society should be  
one endowed with the ability, capacity and skills to generate and  
capture new knowledge and to access, absorb and use effectively  
information, data and knowledge with the support of information and  
communication technology. Already in society there are many "agents  
of meaning" or "knowledge workers," such as the family, schools, the  
state, opinion makers and leaders, not to mention religious  
institutions.

     Knowledge is essential in establishing presence in the  
international marketplace, and is key to
     participating in the global economy of which the Internet is an  
increasingly important vehicle. Moreover, knowledge should be  
recognized in its role in the development of information and  
communication technology. At the same time, there is a fundamental  
need to develop an ability to discern information received, given the  
enormous sea of information available. This process can flourish only  
where there is a recognized hierarchy of values.

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.



--
Robert Guerra <rguerra at privaterra.org>
Director, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
WSIS Civil Society Bureau, Focal Point for North America & Europe
Tel +1 416 893 0377 Fax +1 416 893 0374