RMG - Building the future of media with migrants and refugees

07 April 2023

(ANS - Rome) - In March, Italy and the whole world witnessed one of the most serious maritime tragedies, the Cutro shipwreck, which resulted in the death of many people including dozens of minors. The media, including the Catholic media, have taken up and commented on this sad episode, dwelling on the pain and suffering and wondering how to stimulate compassion, but also the adoption of concrete actions.

The third article in the series conceived and written by Fr. Maciej Makuła, SDB, a member of the Social Communication Sector, is dedicated to this very issue: communication related to migration processes and how to build the very future of the media with migrants and refugees.

In the April article, starting precisely with the Cutro tragedy and continuing with an analysis of the document of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development entitled "Building the Future with Migrants and Refugees," the author reflects on the role of the media in the narrative of migration.

"The media," Fr. Makuła points out, "can increasingly become a platform for self-expression, as well as for shaping a positive image of migrants and refugees that counters stereotypes, discrimination, and human rights violations."

The theme of migrants and refugees, today more than ever, is a highly topical one and closely concerns the Salesians and the entire Salesian Family, who in many parts of the world are involved in assisting and welcoming people who, to escape wars, hardships, and suffering, are forced to leave their countries of origin.

"In many parts of the world," the author continues, "the Salesian Family assists people who have left the place where they were born and raised and moved to another part of the continent or the world to seek peace, freedom, justice, and a decent livelihood. Following social teaching, it must be recognized that the Church sees in the eyes and faces of migrants and refugees the face of the suffering Christ. In the face of historical processes affecting the entire planet, building the future of the Church also means appreciating the contribution that migrants and refugees can make to building a better world. This must also be understood as a process of developing media messages and communication strategies on this painful issue."

The full text of the article can be downloaded here at the bottom of the page - in Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Polish.

InfoANS

ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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