GIORNALISMO CATTOLICO

CATHOLIC JOURNALISM. – It is journalism founded on Christian principles and shaped by them.

**OUTLINE:**

I. Definition

II. History

III. Present-day Catholic journalism

IV. Journalistic technique and professional ethics.

I. DEFINITION

Journalism is one of the typical aspects of modern society; although its origins can be traced back to a distant past, in earlier times, for various reasons—both intrinsic and extrinsic—it remained an episodic and particular phenomenon until the end of the 18th century. Today, however, it can be rightly considered a “social service” of information for the individual and of public opinion formation, through the reproduction and interpretation, in the form of news and articles, of daily life alongside current events. Its importance has not been diminished by the development of other means of information, but rather it is all the more compelling where the press is legally free and subject to public opinion and debate; its influence is even deeper where the press, uniformly oriented, offers no contrasting views or public debates.

The characteristics of modern journalism are the speed and breadth of the information it possesses, the rapidity of printing methods, its vast circulation, but above all the fact that journalists constitute a distinct class with their own way of thinking and their own opinions. The “journalistic style,” like “journalistic circles,” are expressions that nonetheless reflect a factual reality existing as an element of modern society.

Catholic journalism does not differ in general characteristics from journalism without this adjective; indeed, Catholic newspapers share the same purpose as others, use the same technical means, and have the same relationship with readers; likewise, Catholic journalists are professionals no more and no less than other journalists. The fact that Catholic journalism is primarily at the service of an idea, and thus is primarily “ideological” journalism, does not distinguish it—if anything—from purely “informative” journalism, where such exists, but rather aligns it with other forms of purely “ideological” journalism. However, it is distinguished from all these other forms by its strict adherence to the norms of a more rigorous professional and social ethics, which is not generic but based on Christian principles and informed by them.

From a social standpoint, Catholic journalism is part of that complex of thought and works by militant Catholics, which in modern times has taken the name of Catholic Action; and this despite the fact that, historically and geographically, it has sometimes preceded and sometimes followed the organized movement of Catholic Action, always serving as its principal auxiliary if not indeed one of its determining elements. So much so that it will be seen how there is no Catholic journalism in those countries where, for various reasons, there is no Catholic Action, and vice versa.

II. HISTORY

Modern journalism was born alongside that movement of social renewal which took shape at the beginning of the 19th century, and whose somewhat complex features have not yet been fully clarified; and like that movement, journalism was considered and called the “child of the Revolution,” and thus both exalted and feared. If today the journalistic relics of a century and a half ago elicit a smile of amusement, such was not the opinion of contemporary readers, for whom the mere fact that relatively prompt news from distant lands, along with commentary and interpretation that seemed supremely bold, was already a great impression. Articles made an even greater impression than the news, particularly the so-called “editorials,” which gave—and still give—the newspaper’s and its milieu’s opinion on political matters. Such articles began to be published in English newspapers as early as 1704, but on the Continent much later; French and German gazettes began publishing them during the French Revolution; Italian ones in the period immediately preceding 1848, despite the fact that in Italy the birth of the newspaper in a form resembling the modern one can be dated to the mid-17th century, whereas in other countries it came later. But these were newspapers of a predominantly literary character, both because governments would not have permitted anything else and because, in reality, before (or after) the democratic consciousness of the people awoke, no other topics were sought. Later, the papers became politically revolutionary in nature; silenced under the Napoleonic Empire, with Napoleon’s fall there was indeed a flourishing of periodicals of a Catholic character, but the restrictive laws of the Restoration governments forced them to remain within the purely moral and religious, scientific, and literary spheres. Gradually, however, as time passed, the pressure of the press on governments grew, aiming at freedom, and this movement, as far as Catholic journalism was concerned, manifested itself especially in Italy and France.