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Catholic World News News Feature

Pope asks prayers for "renewed Pentecost" May 21, 2007

Pope Benedict XVI asked the faithful to pray for a "renewed Pentecost" for the entire Church, and especially for the Church in Latin America, during a midday audience on Sunday, May 20.

The Holy Father appeared at the window of his apartment in the apostolic palace to address the crowd in St. Peter's Square. After leading the Regina Caeli prayer, he referred briefly to his trip to Brazil, where he addressed the opening session of the Latin American bishops' conference CELAM, and asked for prayers for the success of that meeting.

Next the Pontiff took note of the annual World Day of Social Communications, and observed that "appropriate training in the correct us of the media is essential." This year's theme for the annual observance is "children and the media," and the Pope said that parents, educators, and Church leaders should "work together to educate children and young people to be selective and to develop critical attitudes, cultivating a taste for what is aesthetically and morally valid."

Media executives have their own moral obligations, the Pope continued, saying that their work should "safeguard the common good, respect the truth, and protect the dignity of the person and of the family." In particular, he said, the media should foster respect for marriage and family life. "Programs that inculcate violence and anti-social behavior, or that vulgarize human sexuality, are unacceptable," he said; "and even more so when directed at children."

Pope Benedict concluded his audience by noting that Sunday marked the celebration of the Ascension in many countries, including Italy. (The Vatican, following the traditional Church calendar, marked the observance of Ascension Thursday on May 17.) By his Ascension, the Pontiff said, Jesus "opens the way to eternal life and makes possible the gift of the Holy Spirit" that comes to the Church at Pentecost.