Media within the Catholic Church is used to promote education and participation among the parishioners, visitors, and non-faithful alike. Based on observation of a Catholic church service, artwork, reproduction of religious text, and news postings are the most functional and common applications of media in the Church. Catholicism views media as a positive source for conveying the religion’s beliefs and creating an atmosphere that incites involvement in worship and the community.
Churches use media as a means to increase participation locally and within the mass itself. During an Easter morning service, Castiglion Fiorentino’s Parrocchia del Rivaio distributed pamphlets (right image) displaying the order of mass and the day’s readings for visitors to follow along. The parishioners could read with the priest and speakers and understand how to correctly respond throughout the mass. Furthermore, many churches—including Parrocchia del Rivaio—utilize bulletin boards or flyers to inform the congregation and public of local events to foster an inclusive and engaged community.
Media extends beyond the television and phone screen—it encompasses a world of art and text that the Church employs as learning tools. The Duomo di Orvieto displays frescos depicting the stories of the Bible along its walls, paintings that the Communio et Progressio includes as media that “play their part in… providing both basic and further education,” (PCSC, 1971, p.20). The use of media as art—especially art illustrating the holy text of Catholicism—teaches the illiterate or ignorant the basic beliefs of Catholicism and gives the believers a different perspective on the stories they may already know.
The Catholic Church embraces the use of media in worship, in education, and in instruction or announcements. From a small pamphlet regarding the morning mass to a masterpiece painted to express the life of Christ, media is far-reaching and widely functional within Catholicism.