THE FRAMEWORK
IN SALESIAN PROVINCES
THE TERMS OF REFERENCE - pag. 4
the charism
working point of view
constitutions and regulations
animators and educators
consequences:
centrality of the person
the educational aspect
the richness of the preventive system
the importance of meeting with persons
THE AIMS OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION - pag. 8
from the terms of reference to the great aims
here are the principal points
we are more interested in producing ideas than in achieving material products
we are more interested in being people with positive ideas than in being sterile controversialists
we are more interested in together achieving something of a lasting nature, rather than working as individuals on something transient
THE OBJECTIVES OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION - pag. 11
to arouse in young people and in adults the capacity for critical judgment
to arouse in young people and in adults the culture of objectivity
to pay attention to the culture of the people in different environments
THE METHODOLOGICAL CHOICES IN PARTICIPATION - pag. 13
Practically a catalogue of priorities to be observed
We have to get into the existing structures of social communication in the region before thinking of having our own
The most successful structures are not always the biggest
We have to exploit what exists in the community and in the province
We have to use existing structures to advantage
We have to use to advantage what exists in communities and in the province
We have to use to advantage what is extant in the activities and initiatives of the sector of social communication
A PRELIMINARY CONDITION - pag. 18
quality
other terms for quality
a real undertaking
THE SALESIAN CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE EDUCATOR-EVANGELIST-COMMUNICATOR - pag. 21
THE FRAMEWORK
IN SALESIAN PROVINCES
1.We are going around all the Salesian Provinces to carry out part of the program of the Rector Major and his Council.
2.Here is a quotation from the text of the program:
1.1“To promote and coordinate social communications in the Congregation in a manner which is worldwide, structured, coordinated and gradual.
1.1.1Working in harmony with the worldwide policy of the Social Communications Dicastero for the whole Congregation.
1.1.3Working in agreement with the Provincial Conferences (or other inter-provincial structures).”
3.The most important part of the expressions used is: WORKING IN HARMONY WITH THE WORLDWIDE POLICY OF THE SOCIAL COMMUNICATION DICASTERO FOR THE WHOLE CONGREGATION.
This point of the program offers us the opportunity to introduce the theme of OUR POLICY IN THIS AREA OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION.
4.In the title of my address I have used the term FRAMEWORK instead of the expression POLICY OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION.
That is: those of us who intend to work in social communications as a salesian community have criteria which we cannot forget. (It would be more correct to say: not only those of us who want to, but all of us Salesians for we have been called by our vocation to work in social communications!)
I shall try to present the criteria which must accompany all of the work in social communications of the confreres, of the communities and of the provinces.
5.Let me try, with the help of certain THEMES, to set out the choices of policy in social communications by means of theory.
I shall bunch together the considerations to be made in the field of social communications around certain fundamental nuclei.
6.I consider the following to be fundamental nuclei:
1.the terms of reference
2.the aims to be reached
3.the objectives to be achieved by participation in social sciences
4.the methodological choices in participation
5.a starting point:
quality rather than quantity
ideas rather than finished articles
projects rather than isolated initiatives
6.the salesian characteristics of the educator-evangelist-communicator.
7.Before beginning to analyse each of these points I need to say that there is a rich literature in the Congregation on the theme of social communications.
Different General Chapters have tackled the theme and they have given many practical directions. The Rectors Major have presented the Congregation with the development of community undertakings , beginning with the experience of Don Bosco and stimulating an ever more efficacious presence in the field.
What is going on in our own days requires ever greater attention from all of us.
1.THE TERMS OF REFERENCE
The terms of reference within which we work require:
1.1that we do not lose sight of the charism we have received.
From the vocational point of view let us look at what our Rule of Life has to say.
The Constitutions tell us in article 6 in the following words:
The salesian vocation places us at the heart of the Church and puts us entirely at the service of her mission.
Faithful to the commitments Don Bosco has passed on to us
we are evangelizers of the young, and the more so if they are poor;
we pay special attention to apostolic vocations;
we are educators of the faith of the working classes, particularly by means of social communication;
we proclaim the Gospel to those who have not yet received it.
In this way we contribute to building up the Church as the Body of Christ, so that also through us she may appear to the world as the “universal sacrament of salvation”.
(The highlighting of the four points is mine, and not in the text of the Constitutions.)
1.2From an operative point of view we have recourse to article 43 of the same Constitutions.
Here is the text:
“We work in the social communication sector. This is a significant field of activity which constitutes one of the apostolic priorities of the salesian mission.
Our Founder had an instinctive grasp of the value of this means of mass education, which creates culture and spreads patterns of life; he showed great originality in the apostolic undertakings which he initiated to defend and sustain the faith of the people.
Following his example we utilize as God’s gift the great possibilities which social communication offers us for education and evangelization.”
Finally, it is timely not to forget an element present in the General Regulations in article 6:
“Characteristic aspects of our pedagogy should be expressed in the plan and realized in practice through suitable processed; such aspects are:
The active and responsible involvement of the young people themselves;
a sensitive education for love;
a serious cultural, social and professinalpreparation;
communication in its artistic and recreational expressions.”
(Again the highlighting of the points is mine, and not found in the text of the General Regulations.)
1.3The two references to what the Constitutions and Regulations say place social communication on the plane:
of education (we are animators and educators)
…with the typical consequences linked to the Preventive System, namely: reason, religion, loving kindness, accompaniment, co-responsibility, involvement of young people, etc., etc.
of evangelization (we were born from a catechism lesson) of the young and of their condition
…with the preoccupation of a pastor who is seeking the salvation of young people (in the sense of global salvation which liberates from the things that condition us).
1.4As ANIMATORS and EDUCATORS, before all else, we are interested in PERSONS (both the person of the operators in communications, as well as the persons of the clients of communications, be they young people or adults). The structures, all the structures, even though useful and in some cases indispensable, do not constitute the heart of the problem.
The educator – Don Bosco used to say – is the person totally consecrated to the good of his young charges.
Those who begin an experience of social communication are not exempt from this fundamental and central criterion, namely the work of education and the pastoral angle
1.5From a practical point of view there follow:
1.The centrality of the person.
Tools can also be important.
Persons, however, are essential.
And this is true whether we consider the workers in social communication or its clientele.
The reminder seems very opportune, because it is easy, when speaking of communication, to pay full attention to the audience or to the marketing potential of the product, thereby giving less importance to the persons who will use the finished product.
The theme of the centrality of the person brings to mind at the same time the need for a purpose in building relationships, and not leaving it to mere chance.
2.The educational aspect
In a society which is described as one of communication and in which the technical aspect and the spasmodic use of material instruments seem to predominate, we are called upon not to neglect our vocation to be educators, also by means of social communication.
From this point of view the connection between social communication and youth pastoral work is indispensable for us Salesians.
It is not only a connection because of its contents, but also because of its methods and winning strategies, for it to be educationally efficacious with young people.
The characteristics of the salesian way of working – we are animators and educators – cannot be wanting in all those who call themselves communicators by the very definition of their vocation.
3.The richness of the Preventive System
As Salesians we are convinced that, among the many systems of education, the Preventive System is the one which best responds to the growth of all people, and especially of young people.
The richness of the preventive system can be checked in social communication.
Social Communication today overcomes all barriers and cannot be confined in contexts which are totally controllable.
It is of easy access to everyone and everywhere.
Therefore only prevention, when taken to mean personal formation and the critical capacity of making decisions when faced with a multitude of messages, and with an unlimited network of information which goes in all directions is capable of defending one’s freedom and one’s inner being.
The salesian vocation works on these levels in contemporary culture.
Perhaps it will be necessary to add a new chapter to the volume which the Salesians throughout the whole world are writing on the preventive system.
How does reason work in social communication?
How can you make religion work by using the tools of social communication?
What will be the part of loving kindness in the ambit of social communication?
4.The importance of meeting with persons.
There is a final aspect to be highlighted amongst the comments which we are developing: the risk of a virtual relationship which has come about by means of the tools themselves.
We all know the importance that meeting people had in Don Bosco’s system: personal meetings, interpersonal meetings, group meetings, family meetings.
It is not only a question of not losing a characteristic way of acting in the salesian manner. We must, above all, bear in mind the concreteness of the knowledge of the situations, the adequacy of the initiatives, the possibility of intervening with persons and the condition of the group which we are dealing with
The problems we are facing are new ones.
Like the wise man of the gospel we must be able to draw out both new and old things from our experience and salesian tradition.
.
2.THE AIMS OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION
2.1From the terms of reference we move to the great aims.
It is a further clarification which helps to define our position and to make concrete the “salesian charism” of comunicators.
The terms of reference have placed before us our overall undertaking as Salesians in the contemporary world.
The salesian context and the cultural context overwhelm us.
We, however, are part of both of them.
I ask myself a series of pressing questions.
The answers will show us where we stand in the chequered world of comunication.
What will our strategy be for working in the sector of social communication?
What necessary points of reference will we have to keep before us?
What can we never disown, even though working in a field which often risks changing the fundamental rules of human and moral relationships?
How would we like to be recognised by the other workers in social communication?
2.2Here are the principal points of the salesian strategy:
1.We are more interested in producing ideas rather than achieving material products.
This is a first important choice to accomplish in the practical sphere.
We do not want to enter into competition with people who produce things.
In practice this means that it is much more important to prepare people who are qualified in the field of communication than to have our own great material means; people who when the time comes will also be capable of managing structures.
Away with the temptation to think that the possession of structures is sufficient to make us communicators who are charismatically efficacious.
We want to be able to produce ideas and just not be managers of products!
It seems that this has to be the first and foremost strategy in the Congregation.
In the Congregation we do not lack tools, means, structures.
On the other hand it is not easy to find experts in communication, educators in communication, pastoral people who have a good mastery in the field of communication.
We must form groups for reflection.
It is necessary to create centres for educational and pastoral experimentation in the field of social communication.
It is necessary to learn to act as communities and not as isolated persons.
There are many … communicators … who do not know how to communicate.
2.We are more interested in being people with positive ideas than in being sterile controversialists.
The Constitutions remind us:
[…]
Inspired by the optimistic humanism of St Francis de Sales, (the Salesian) believes in man’s natural and supernatural resources without losing sight of his weakness.
He is able to make his own what is good in the world and does not bewail his own times; he accepts all that is good, especially if it appeals to the young.
[…]
(cf. C17).
The winning strategy is one which is able to create messages which arrive at their destination: in the locality where we work, to adults who are responsible for the education of young people, to young people who are always our privileged clients.
We have to create messages.
It is not only a task for the sector of social communication.
It is an undertaking for every salesian house.
The insertion into the region is always meaningful as a result of the choices in life and action which are carried out.
Paying attention to the messages which go out and come back is a primary task.
Significance, the every day concern in our houses, our provinces and the congregation in this post General Chapter 24 period, is the capacity to speak and influence the lives of young people and of the people at large by means of the life of the salesian community.
Just as they equip themselves with qualifications in education and pastoral work, our houses must make themselves more attentive to qualifications in comunication, such as the creation of messages which can be perceived by others.
There is a saying of Don Bosco which is very interesting in this regard.
He says:
“Our times call for action. The world has become materialistic, and so we have to go out of our way to make known the good that we are doing. Even if we were to work miracles by praying day and night in solitude, the world would neither notice it nor believe it. The world has to see for itself.” (BM 13,96).
Significance has the following characteristics:
visual appeal
easy to read
response to people’s profound aspirations.
3.We are more interested in together achieving something of a lasting nature, rather than working as individuals on something transient.
Working together involves
exchange of ideas
planning
looking to the future
consistent checking
Individual work has many rich aspects which should not be underestimated. We are all capable of being creative and steadfast.
The Constitutions put an interesting principle before us in article 52:
“The community receives each confrere with an open heart. It accepts him as he is and fosters his growth to maturity. It offers him the oportunity to use and develop his gifts of nature and of grace. It provides for his needs and sustains him in moments of doubt and difficulty, weariness and ill health.
[…]
The confrere pledges himself to build up the community in which he lives. He loves it, despite its imperfections, and knows that in it he finds the presence of Christ.
He accepts fraternal correction, fights whatever he discovers in himself which militates against the community, and gives his own generous contribution to the community life and work. He thanks God that he is among brothers who encourage him and help him.”
Mutual support is established between communities and individual confreres so that the messages which they transmit to the people around them will be efficacious.
Each activity is indispensable
The timing of the intervention is the rule of communication.
Delay means losing the circle of influence and listening.
But isolated activities, often having little coherence with the combined effort of all, run the risk of not producing the desired results
Education and pastoral work have an absolute need of good planning because of
the aims they pursue
3.THE OBJECTIVES OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION
Another step to explain, at more workable levels, the policy of social communication in the Congregation.
From the terms of reference that involve all of us we passed on to the strategy required to direct our path, and now we come to the objectives to be reached in the different interventions and in the whole organization of social communication.
3.1I shall say what I mean with concise statements which I shall try to explain..
1.We have to arouse in young people and in adults the ability to make critical judgments.
We hold that we are living in a mass situation today.
Edward Shills has stated that “the new society is a mass society, precisely in the sense that the mass of the population has been incorporated into society”.
This is the only departure point for every talk which sets out to analyse the modern set up of the means of communication.
This is not the most opportune moment to make a complex reflection on the theme.
It is indispensable, however, to bear in mind the meanings which social communication has assumed today.
I shall enumerate them briefly without going into details.
This … list … will help me to arrive at a conclusion which is the first objective which I want to emphasise.
Mass communication is considered as;
a social fact: there is a shift from individualism to collectivism of knowledge, from autonomy to standardisation of thought;
a social expression: each cultural object is always the product of persons who interpretand give voice to the needs and the ideas of a certain social group;
a form of social influence: we have passed from the time of the individual to the time of the masses,
in latitude: all geographical zones are reached,
in extension: the most diverse contents are transmitted,
in depth: they have a strong capacity for social penetration;
social action: they are presented
both as a real economic undertaking
and as a powerful force for socialisation, positively (they become a means for human promotion) and negatively (they become a means for standardisation and for control of public opinion):
a social responsibility: apart from the positive and negative aspects discussed earlier, here it is interesting to note that the recipients are often found:
with biased information as far as the contents are concerned or with contents which do not respect the less protected ones, such as children and young people
with modalities of communication which are more suited to the gutter than to living in civil society.
3.2Here is the conclusion I wanted to draw out
From all of this we realise that the present set up of the media represents the new educational and ethical frontier of contemporary culture.
In this the first and principal task is the progressive formation of a critical conscience.
A liberating education is as indispensible today as it was in times of ideological pressure some years ago.
It must be added that the media today are becoming not only more pervasive but also more persuavise.
It is more difficult, therefore, to create a real critical judgment in front of the media.
In the final analysis it is however more urgent!
2.We have to arouse in young people and in adults the culture of objectivity
Sociological analysis of the youth condition offers, amongst many other indications, the following two characteristics of their behaviour:
they react immediately to people and events, adverse circumstances and doubts.
they are easily taken in by anything presented as fascinating and glamorous.
3.3These two characteristics do not have only a negative side.
They also present very positive aspects.
Young people, however, can take the most obvious risks in front of the media. The latter, in fact, make instantaneous reactions easy as they do not allow much space for reflection, research and criticism.
They involve them emotionally and thus reduce the space for personal liberty.
Education to truth and objectivity is urgent.
It is an integral part of any education which is all-embracing and synthetic.
Sometimes concern for the image they project conditions personal expression whether it be verbal or real.
We adapt ourselves to the expectations of others.
We fear making a poor figure.
We don’t want to be judged as “traditionalist” or “retrograde”.
We almost do not want to displease others.
Appearances risk becoming the fundamental criterion of social life.
Where are moral values and judgments banished to?
We are all subjected by the media to an immediate judgment based on beauty, on the myth of beauty.
What is beautiful is also … good!
What is beautiful counts … in the marketplace … of social relationships!
The splendour of the truth is also the concern, though not the dominant concern, of social communication.
3.We have to pay attention to the culture of the people in different environments.
The two objectives pointed out above introduce an essential element to link with communication: culture.
Here are some consequences:
Social communication is not synonymous with light entertainment
It is the capacity to speak to people, young and old, in their own language.
Theoretical investigations of the problem reach the conclusion that “language is the logical portrayal of the world”.
And human relationships with the world involve imaginative representation of the events, which constitute the world itself.
One either learns this language or one remains shut off from communication with young people especially and, for that matter, with simple folk also.
“Paying attention to culture” can arouse questions for Salesians, who are more at home in action than in reflection, in an operational assignment rather than a cultural assignment.
What I am saying does not mean that we need to become snobbish intellectuals.
I’m only trying to point out that one cannot afford to be simplistic and superficial in things.
To have an influence on change, it is necessary to learn to have an influence on the language that describes and in some way constitutes the reality itself.
I am not going to dwell on this aspect only because it has theoretical underpinnings which call for much more precise reflection if one is not to remain with vague generalizations.
To refer to culture means to bring back the presence and the action of the Salesian to his task of education which itself is a part of culture
Social communication trains for constant verification by the use of feedback.
This is not considered an academic exercise .
It can become the criterion for measuring our ability:
to send messages
to speak the language of the place
to influence the vision of the world and happenings therein.
4.THE METHODOLOGICAL CHOICES IN OUR INTERVENTIONS
I intend to compile and show some ways for working in the field of social communication
4.1Practically a catalogue of priorities to be observed.
1.We have to get into the existing structures of social communication in the region, before thinking of having our own.
This is a practical criterion and it has a basis in our vocation.
When it is not possible to act differently, then we go ahead with our own structures, provided the reasons have been considered in the community and the response comes from the community and not from individual persons.
This has already been stated and affirmed in the preceding pages.
The motivations were not given.
Here they are:
economic factors:
the equipment is costly
it is practically impossible to keep it up to date with the very rapid progress in technology nowadays: equipment has a shortlife.
managerial factors:
personnel to organise: we run the risk of becoming managers and doing far less work as animators and educators.
specialised personnel: qualification leads to services and autonomy, and often autonomy receives the greater emphasis.
non-stop work by those who are employed under contract: concern about this often relegates educational and cultural matters to the last place.
competition which is often ruthless and immoral: to survive we should not descend to anything which compromises the charism typical of the Congregation..
These recommendations are valid for all environments.
It is not a question of differentiating between the first worl and all the other worlds.
2.The most successful structures are not always the biggest
Work can also be done in other structures.
Alternative structures mean:
they are different in terms of the equipment used: small structures are also more agile than large ones and permit more successul results, because they are more suited to life situations.
they are different in terms of the contents offered: they can offer an original program carefully worked out and aimed at the needs of the young and not so young whom we want to reach from the educational and pastoral point of view:
not only recreational
not only religious
not only centred on the spectacular
etc. etc.
they are different in terms of the workers who are responsible: this is a field where we have to be very wide awake
when faced with youth involvement
when faced with the responsible participation of lay people who are evangelically oriented
to work as animators to form for those who work with us
helping them therefore to fit in to the structures of the region.
they are different in terms of organization: they can become a centre for other workers in the area to come together
whether it be to support them
to be of reciprocal help to one another
to work together to study problems in communication on the spot
to agree together on significant interventions
to form a group to support the initiatives and interventions of the community.
3.We have to use to advantage what exists in the communities and in the province.
Great changes are taking place in this field
To use existing structures to advantage:
For example: a structure is
a theatre
a movie hall
a place where it is possible to call together a large number of people
a playground
even a public square
a library
a book shop
a printing press
a computer room
a photocopier
a national magazine
a newspaper
a local bulletin
an informative brochure
a radio transmitter
a communication centre
a movie-camera
a photo camera
etc. etc.
The list could be much longer if the comunity were to succeed in looking at its present set-up, and its presence and action from the point of view of communication.
We have to use to advantage all of these points of contact means to work for the culture of the people and the fruits of the work will be reaped later.
It is indispensable that there be intelligent coordination if every establishment is to function in its own special way
We have to use to advantage the people in the work who are presently qualified in this sector.
Here also the list could be very long.
If GC24 has accustomed us to think of a renewed model of community responsible for the spirit and the mission, this requirement can be applied to the sector of social communication in a particular way.
We have to look beyond the salesian community.
We have to look beyond the lay people of the Salesian Family.
We have to look beyond the Friends of Don Bosco.
Some things are possible and feasible only if the community can create friendly and lasting relationships with people who work in the field of social communication in their own area.
Qualified persons need to update their expertise frequently
Knowing themselves appreciated will serve to drive them on to yet higher achievements.
We have to use to advantage what is extant in the activities and initiatives of the sector of social communication.
Our salesian tradition in this respect is very rich.
To lose it would mean an impoverishment of the educational capacity of the community.
The list is absolutely incomplete, but it helps me to remind you of the breadth of opportunities offered to all the communities.
Let me point them out:
the specific activities of youth groups for social communication:
animation of evening recreations
journalism
cinema
theatre
singing
clowning
dance
etc. etc.
the activities programmed in a year’s pastoral work present interesting and important occasions which can also be considered from the point of view of communication.
Hence:
provincial days or provincial meetings
Salesian Family days or meetings of the Salesian Family.
various celebrations in a house, in a presence, in an initiative
meetings with personalities in the ecclesiastical world
civil
salesian
etc. etc.
4.2An aspect not to be overlooked in reaching the desired aim: the aftermath of the event.
It is necessary to give importance to things.
The communication is to be prepared, followed up and relaunched.
It is indispensable to use the means of communication to mould opinions and publicize events which we think should be known because they have something of our spirit.
5.A PRELIMINARY CONDITION
I want to read what the General Regulations have to say about social communication:
Article 31
As far as local possibilities permit, the provincial with his council should promote our pastoral presence in the social communication sector: he should prepare confreres to enter the fields of publishing, the cinema, radio and television; he should establish and build up our centres for the publishing and diffusion of books, aids and periodicals, and found centres for the production and transmission of audiovisual, radio and television programmes.
These services should be established on secure juridical and economic foundations, and there should be liaison and cooperation between those in charge of them and the councillor general for the Salesian Family and social communication.
Article 32
Salesians should take care to educate their charges to an understanding of the language of the social communication field, and to a critical aesthetic and moral sense. They should also encourage musical and dramatic activity, and promote reading circles and cineforum groups.
Article 33
The channels of information and dialogue both inside and outside the Congregation and Salesian Family (bulletins, ANS, short films, video-cassettes, etc. should be developed, with appropriate use also of the means offered by recent advances in technology.
Publishing houses in the same country or region should devise suitable methods of collaboration, so as to adopt a uniform plan.
Article 34
Whenever required by canon law, the ecclesiastical revision of matter for publication will be preceded by that of censors appointed by the provincial.
5.1The preliminary condition is … quality
The General Regulations are explicitly concerned with the fact that the organization of social communication in the province should pay attention:
to the rules … of civil laws so as not to run into situations of juridical difficulty
to the rules … of finance, so as to operate calmly and not have to declare … bankruptcy
to the rules … of competition so as to be accepted and preferred to other operators in the sector.
5.2Then they present a second concern: the quality of service rendered.
Translating the word quality, one can speak of:
perfection in the work to be done, practising the ascetism of the gospel, so that a spirit will emerge, even when difficulties are encountered.
and remembering that our clients, our young people, are our masters as Don Bosco said: they deserve therefore works which are done well from all points of view. The poorer they are the more they deserve impeccable service;
noble precision, using a phrase of Pius XI when presenting the virtue of Dominic Savio. In lay terminology precision means competence acquired by means of study, research and continuous checking. Most times competence requires continuous formation.
Precision is an objective reality which pervades all stages of the work, from the beginning to the enjoyment of the fruits of the work. Interrupting the process of precision in any of the stages spoils not only the results of the work, but also personal perfection;
an intervention prepared carefully and carried out with enthusiasm: every intervention has the stamp of a work of art, so long as it meets the rules of work and the expectations, open or latent, of the client;
a continual improvement of the working structure: taking into account the persons involved and their creativity; the technical tools used; and the project which are being undertaken.
I quote from a text which studies in depth the quality control in a business undertaking and can be very useful in our reflection and our work as communicators:
“There must not be limits to the continuous improvement in quality, a function no longer restricted to the specialists but the direct reponsibility of every worker in the firm.
The language of statistics must become the second language used in the firm.
Foresight and continued reference to data and facts are the most important aspects of the new way of work.”
(Alberto Galgano, LA RIVOLUZIONE MANAGERIALE, Ripensare la Qualità Totale, Il Sole 24 ore Libri, Milano, pag. 157.).
5.3The work in the social comunication centre must be tackled like a real business.
A business outlook is not an obstacle to pastoral work.
On the contrary, it gives pastoral involvement a further reason for working with quality products.
Two methods will bring positive results when working with social communication:
establish “quality circles”, namely small groups which undertake to check regularly the whole process of quality, in small organised units.
The fundamental aim of checking is to promote self-development and mutual support.
This leads perforce to a better management of projects and to other improvements in the organising unit.
Organise the work of the provincial delegate for social communication in such a way that he acts as the coach of a team.
He needs to be a coach gifted with charism and ability, who has a positive attitude and can see opportunity in every problem.
He needs to be a coach who has the humility to understand that to win the game it is not enough to have one great person, but rather a great team.
The quality of the provincial delegate must be obvious and evident.
6.THE SALESIAN CHARACTERISTICS
6.1I shall not deal with this last point
I postpone it to a later study in depth, so as to remove any impression of an unbalanced talk concerned more with technical than with pastoral and spiritual aspects.
I take the liberty of making just one statement :
the quality of what is done and of the operators in the field ensure liaison, support and a continuation of the technical ability to express oneself in the pastoral and spiritual side of communication.
If quality and qualifications are lacking, however, good will is not enough to respond to the needs of today in this new areopagus.
Thank you for your attention.
Rome, 6 August 1998
