Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 83 No. 2, 2013.
Preliminary communication
Public Opinion and Dialogue in the Church
Mirko Mataušić
; Centre for Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Suzana Peran
orcid.org/0000-0001-6208-8077
; Croatian Catholic Press Agency (IKA), Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The article deals with the concepts of public opinion and dialogue in the Church and society. Based on literature from the field of media theory, documents of the Second Vatican Council and Church documents on the mass media, the development of the concepts of the public and public opinion in civil society and the Church is presented. The article also identifies problems that occur when concepts and models of civil society are applied to relations within the Church. Attention is given to the right to information, which Pope John XXIII considered one of the fundamental human rights, as is seen from secular and Church documents. It is emphasized that the Second Vatican Council considered dialogue to be an important determinant of the continued life of the Church and insistence on dialogue was one of the elements with which the Council attempted to reconcile the Church with the present. In the context of discussion on the public and public opinion, it is noted that the public is also changing through the development of modern media, which represents a challenge to Church ministry and proclamation. In the conclusion, the roles of Catholic institutions, media and journalists in creating dialogue within the Church and forming Church public opinion are pointed out. The obligation of the Church to participate in the creation of public opinion in society, which it set for itself in its documents, and the importance of the formation of the lay faithful to be able to defend Christian principles in public dialogue are stressed. The extent to which the lack of genuine dialogue within the Church hampers its credibility in social dialogue should be studied.
Keywords
public; public opinion; dialogue; mass media; right to information
Hrčak ID:
105296
URI
Publication date:
8.7.2013.
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