I have been reading the last Apostolic letter that John Paul II wrote before he died; it is an letter concerning the rapid development of technology and communications in the world.
He states that "a vast work of formation is needed to assure that the mass media be known and used intelligently and appropriately. The new vocabulary they introduce into society modifies both learning processes and the quality of human relations, so that, without proper formation, these media run the risk of manipulating and heavily conditioning, rather than serving people. This is especially true for young people, who show a natural propensity towards technological innovations, and as such are in greater need of education in the responsible and critical use of media."
The new vocabulary is every where: we no longer say killing babies but we say 'pro-choice'; we no longer say fornication but we say 'casual sexual partnership' we never say adultery but simply we call it an 'love affair'.
The media has been seeking to manipulate and heavily condition us for quite some time.
We have followed suit.
The next time you read a paper, news article, magazine, or watch TV: note how many times the media refuses to recognize the reality and try to appease and gloss over with softer sounding words especially in light of serious and grave matters contrary to the law of God and the benefit of society.
You might be surprised and hopefully you will be changed by recognizing the lie and be formed anew by God's grace.
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