Kim Daniels: Vatican Media offers a unique multicultural perspective

By Joseph Tulloch

Professor Kim Daniels, co-director of the Institute on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, says that Vatican Media’s multicultural perspective is a “real asset.”

In an interview with Vatican News’ Sr. Bernadette Reis on the sidelines of the Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Communication, the American professor, who is a member of the Dicastery, discussed the unique contributions and overarching goal of Vatican media.

A unique perspective

Professor Daniels highlighted two unique contributions made by the Dicastery, which includes Vatican News, Vatican Radio, the Osservatore Romano newspaper, the Holy See Press Office, and the Vatican Publishing House, as well as other entities.

Firstly, she said, she is always struck when in Rome by “what a multilingual and multicultural institution the Catholic Church is. The historian John McGreevy reminds us that we’re the most multicultural, most multilingual institution in the world.”

Noting the vast array of languages that Vatican Radio broadcasts in – nearly 40 – she said: “That's one real asset that we bring. We have this global perspective.”

The Dicastery’s second particular contribution to the world of communications, she said, is “solidarity with the poor and the suffering, the vulnerable.”

“I think that what we try to do as Catholic communicators is to be sure we're raising up the voices and the stories of those whose voices too often go unheard.”

A simple goal

Professor Daniels went on to identify a simple goal for Vatican communications.

This aim, she said, “intersects so much” with her work at the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, which seeks to “build bridges across political, ideological, and ecclesial lines, and encourage a new generation of lay leaders to see their Catholic faith as an asset in their professional and personal lives.”

It also fits in with the mission of the Church more broadly, she said, since “Church communications are at the heart of spreading the Gospel.”

Finally, Professor Daniels stressed the steps forward that have been made by the Dicastery for Communication in the past few years.

“It's just remarkable to see from my role how much has been done to advance this work over the course of these past several years, and I'm just grateful for all of that.”