SIGNIS receives official recognition as Catholic media organisation

(Vatican Radio) The World Catholic Association for Communications, known as SIGNIS, on Friday received official recognition as an international public association of the Church and an important part of its evangelising mission. Founded in 2001 from the merger of the International Catholic Organization for Cinema (OCIC) and the International Catholic Association for Radio and Television (Unda), SIGNIS continues the pioneering work of Catholic media and communications professionals which dates back to the advent of commercial cinema in the late 19th century.
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During a brief presentation and prayer liturgy, the head of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko said that alongside the confirmation of its Catholic identity, this recognition carries a responsibility to continue promoting the highest ideals of truth, justice and the dignity of each individual…
"The service of promoting the dignity of the human person, of promoting truth, justice and reconciliation - all these things are included in SIGNIS' mission....In many places the Mass Media is used to manipulate men and women of today....whereas the Church teaches that our contemporaries have a right to information  on the important questions of our time that is 'true and complete', inspired by justice and charity."
The current president of SIGNIS, Cuban film reviewer Gustavo Andujar, noted the importance of committed lay people working in media and communications, bringing their views and values into dialogue with the contemporary world of cinema, radio and television….
"Although SIGNIS and its mother organisations have always counted on the enthusiastic participation and support of numerous priests, it has remained mainly an endeavour of lay people with an increasingly clear consciousness of the need for an active participation in and vibrant dialogue with the professional world of the media."
SIGNIS, the Brussels based World Catholic Association for Communications, has a presence in some 140 countries around the world.
(from Vatican Radio)