Mass Media as the Key Space for Preaching and Defending Christian Personalism

Abstract

Since the invention of print, the media have been increasingly influencing individual and social awareness. They seem apt to undo, in a relatively short period of time, whatever good the upbringing and authorities of a high moral standard have instilled into a person. However, the media can also support the development of this good in a significant way. They are a powerful tool that everyone has to reckon with, they are a place to exchange all sorts of ideas – from the worst to the best. That is the reason why anyone who wants to proclaim the principle of Christian personalism in society should try to think through how to wisely use them to spread the message. However, this message will inevitably meet with strong opposition from people who have opposite beliefs and from the media they own, as they have made them a fundamental place for the struggle for power and dominion over human consciousness. This article, written on the basis of theoretical considerations, but also the rich media experience of the author, attempts to provide practical advice on these matters. The article explains the common structure of all such opposition that follows the pattern of the very loud media case of Fr. Krzysztof Charamsa (in which the author was himself deeply entangled), Tygodnik Powszechny and Gazeta Wyborcza which supported him. In this way, the article shows the mechanisms of manipulation of contemporary media, but also the remedies available.