» 01/20/2012 14:14 SRI LANKA Pope’s peace message, tool to solve the country’s crisis by Melani Manel Perera Fr Benedict Joseph, national director of Social Communications and the Church, talks about the pope’s World Peace Day message. “Sri Lanka is in a very sorry state of affairs. Most of the crisis that we are facing today is due to poor handling of education,” he said. “Therefore, all those concerned should go back to the fundamentals of education and study this particular document.”
Colombo (AsiaNews) – The Holy Father’s message on World Peace Day 2012, ‘Educating Young People in Justice and Peace”, is very meaningful and practicable. Sri Lankan Catholics welcomed the papal message and expressed appreciation for its suggestions. The message calls on everyone to “pool together our spiritual, moral and material resources for the great goal of ‘educating young people in justice and peace’,” said Fr Benedict Joseph, spokesman for the Diocese of Colombo, as he spoke to AsiaNews in an interview.
“Sri Lanka is in a very sorry state of affairs,” said Fr Joseph, who is also national director of Social Communications and the Church. “Most of the crisis that we are facing today is due to poor handling of education. [. . .] Therefore, all those concerned should go back to the fundamentals of education and study this particular document, the pope’s New Year message of Pope”.
“The message of the Holy Father is an address to the whole human family: parents, elders, young men and women and children,” he noted. “The Holy Father makes use of this occasion to awaken interest among the members of the human family to the urgent need of transforming the family cell and, therefore, society at large. The Holy Father correctly emphasises the importance of educating children. The Church looks to the young with hope and confidence and is optimistic that children can be educated to seek the truth, defend the common good, and open to the world around them and be able to see new things. Education is the foundation for this reality. The papal message therefore is relevant and meaningful (see also “Pope: only by "raising our eyes to God” can we educate young people to justice and peace,” in AsiaNews, 16 December 2011).”
When talking about our country, what meaning can the message take on?
“The country is in a very sorry state of affairs. Leaving aside other issues, let us talk about education. Most of the crisis that we are facing today is due to poor handling of education. Our leaders are utterly clueless about the managing of this most important area. Those who are handling education are utterly incapable of identifying the priorities. Everyone concerned is highly politicised. The true meaning of education has drifted away and away from reality. Children are utterly disillusioned. Parents are so angry. Therefore, let every concerned go back the fundamentals of education and study this particular document. Therefore, all those concerned should go back to the fundamentals of education and study this particular document, the pope’s New Year message of Pope.”
As social communication director and a teacher in communication, how do you respond to the papal message?
“We are convinced that today media play a vital role in the world. The Holy Father has extolled the true nature of media. This particular message has a section devoted to media. It is so pertinent and down to earth. Therefore, we as media people need to get to the core of this message.”
“The media have a duty to offer their own contribution to education. In today's society, the mass media have a great role to play. The role of media is not merely to inform but also to form the minds of the audience. The media are as important as education. Let us always remember that truth must always prevail. Children and youth must be handled with care. When the religious sentiment falls by the wayside, it is inevitable that the ugly and the bad will have a field day.”
“Many things need to be done by many actors: educators, teachers, religious leaders, Catholic educators, media people, especially in Catholic media. So far, I have not seen any sign of special programmes coming from any quarter. We shall have to wait and see."
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