I very much like the changes tha thave been made at the Vatican Newspaper as well as other communication outlets of the Vatican. I still think we are moving at a snails space and both need to be available more to the worldwide audinece of Catholics but we are getting there.
Anywho, The Ratzinger Froum has translated this Piece from a Italian Catholic paper , La Stampa, that I thought was interesting:
A year of change in 'the Pope's newspaper':
Benedict XVI has encouraged its use of non-Catholic contributors by
GIACOMO GALEAZZI
Sept. 29, 2008 .
VATICAN CITY - Rabbis, Anglican bishops, Orthodox prelates, Muslim intellectuals, atheist opinion-makers (in the first line, historian and political philosopher Ernesto Galli Della Loggia and essayist Aldo Schiavone) and women: increasingly, L'Osservatore Romano has taken on board "non-Catholic and non-believing intellectuals' as guest writers.
Giovanni Maria Gian, professor and historian of Christianity, who completes his first year today as editor of the Pope's newspaper, points to the gains that have been made, at the behest of Benedict XVI, in partibus infidelium (on the part of infidels).
The objective of his 'publisher' Joseph Ratzinger, he said, is "to potentiate information to on other Christian confessions and other religions" by opening the Osservatore to 'a growing number of non-Catholic collaborators'.
Vian explained that the Pontiff "follows his newspaper with great attention" and had requested expressly for "a vast international breadth which takes all points of view into account" and to "publish more photographs, illustrations and art reproductions" and The Pope wants "a newspaper that is graphically inviting, with a greater use of color photographs; many interviews; one that can be influential in the cultural debate; and more room for women writers."
The golden list of those who have guest-written for L'Osservatore in the past year includes the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Rowan Williams, Primate of the Anglican Church, along with "representatives of Protestant and other Christian Churches, particularly the Oriental and the Orthodox".
The ecumenical dialog, in fact, is "a priority of the Holy See and therefore, of its newspaper as well". Open doors, too, for Muslim byliners, such as the Algerian-born Muslim scholar Khaled Fouad Allam, ex-deputy of the Partito Democrata; Hanna Salameh, member of the Union of Jordanian Writers, Jordn's League for Human Rights, and the scientific committee of the Oasis international center for study and research founded by Cardinal Angelo Scola, patriarch of Venice, in 2004; Khaled Abd ar-Ra’uf al Jaber, who has been a bridge for Islam-Christian dialog at the University of Petra (Jordan); and Ahmad Gianpiero Vincenzo, president of the Association of Italian Muslim Intellectuals and first director of the Italian government's department for inter-religious dialog.
Among the Jews - 'older brothers' to Christians, in John Paul II's words - besides Anna Foa and Giorgio Israel, who have both been writing frequently, soon to debut on the pages of the Pope's newspaper is Shear-Yashuv Cohen, chief rabbi of Haifa (Israel) and the first non-Christian ever invited to address a Bishops' Synod (on October 6). Preceding him was the chief rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, who contributed his reflections on the papal letter to the Diocese of Rome regarding the educative emergency. "We have known each other for years, we worked together in the Enciclopedia Italiana, and thanks to Roberto Stangler of the Jewish Museum, we have maintained strong contact," says Vian of Di Segni.
The front page of the newspaper has dealt with the most controversial issues from biological wills to the frontiers of scientific research, in a 'secular mix' given the 'unlimited potential of the Vatican' - "Even the Dalai Lama would agree to write for us" - that has also included front-page commentaries on economics and finance by experts like Ettore Gotti Tedeschi and Simona Beretta. Vian expects to have international scholars to contribute articles in their areas of specialty.
One possible guest contributor is Henry Kissinger, a Jew, who was, of course, Secretary of State for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, "whose byline will certain attract a lot of attention". He would be asked to contribute analysis of international affairs that are of greatest interest to the Vatican. "During the year, we have increased our international news coverage by 130%," says Vian. Not incidentally, L'Osservatore inaugurated its first Asian foreign-language edition a few months ago, publishing in Malayalam for the six million Indian Catholics in the state of Kerala. An indication of the interest in the newspaper is that ambassadors to the Holy See and Italy have been visiting the Osservatore editorial offices.
The newspaper first came out as the official organ of the Holy See on July 1, 1861, a few months after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy (marking the reunification of disparate states, including the former papal states, on Italian territory into the first Italian state). Following the Battle of Castelfidardo, the Vatican Interior Minister Marcantonio Pacelli thought it was important to have a newspaper that would defend what remained of the Pontifical State. It has come out daily (except Mondays) since 1862. It has only had 11 editors in its long history. Vian was chosen by Pope Benedict XVI last year to succeed Mario Agnes, who had been the editor since 1984.
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