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This is a compilation of my favorite quotes from the Vatican’s Cardinal Raymond Burke addressing Catholic media last month at the Rome conference of Alliance Defending Freedom.

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My favorite line: “Of supreme importance in an age which characterizes itself by its means of communication is the development and support of truly pro-life and pro-family media.”

His remarks:

First and Fundamental Proclamation of the Truth of Christ

The first and most fundamental way of radiating the living truth which Our Lord Jesus communicates to us in His Mystical Body, the Church, is a strong witness to the inviolable dignity of all human life, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death, to the integrity of marriage as the lifelong, faithful and procreative union of one man and one woman, and to sacred authority of the correctly formed conscience as the guide to the right stewardship of all creation, especially human life and marriage.

The personal conversion and the transformation of the world to which Christ calls all men is necessarily directed, first of all, to the safeguarding and fostering of every human life, especially of “the least of these my brethren,” in accord with Our Lord’s Parable on the Last Judgment, of the fidelity, indissolubility and procreativity of marriage, and of the unconditional respect for the rightly-formed conscience.

Of supreme importance in an age which characterizes itself by its means of communication is the development and support of truly pro-life and pro-family media, and of organizing and sustaining public manifestations in support of the inviolable dignity of innocent human life and the integrity of the family.

The culture of death advances, in large part, because of a lack of attention and information among the general public. What is more, the thoroughly galvanized anti-life and anti-family agenda of the pervasive secular mass media confuses and corrupts minds and hearts, and dulls consciences to the law written by God upon every human heart.

Pope John Paul II declared:

What is urgently called for is a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life. All together, we must build a new culture of life: new, because it will be able to confront and solve today’s unprecedented problems affecting human life; new, because it will be adopted with deeper and more dynamic conviction by all Christians; new, because it will be capable of bringing about a serious and courageous cultural dialogue among all parties. While the urgent need for such a cultural transformation is linked to the present historical situation, it is also rooted in the Church’s mission of evangelization. The purpose of the Gospel, in fact, is “to transform humanity from within and to make it new.” Like the yeast which leavens the whole measure of dough (cf. Mt13:33), the Gospel is meant to permeate all cultures and give them life from within, so that they may express the full truth about the human person and about human life.

Pope John Paul II did not fail to note that such efforts must begin with “the renewal of a culture of life within Christian communities themselves.” The Church herself must address the situation of so many of her members who, even though they may be active in Church activities, “end up by separating their Christian faith from its ethical requirements regarding life, and thus fall into moral subjectivism and certain objectionable ways of acting.”

Blessed John Paul II, therefore, called upon the lay faithful to fulfill their particular responsibility, that is, “to testify how the Christian faith constitutes the only fully valid response – consciously perceived and stated by all in varying degrees – to the problems and hopes that life poses to every person and society.” Making more specific the call, he clarified that the fulfillment of the responsibility of the lay faithful requires that they “know how to overcome in themselves the separation of the Gospel from life, to take up again in their daily activities in family, work and society, an integrated approach to life that is fully brought about by the inspiration and strength of the Gospel.” The communications media, in a particular way, with the help of God’s grace, is directed to helping Christians and all men of good will to overcome any separation of the Gospel from life, especially in what pertains to the heart of the Gospel, including the safeguarding and promoting of human life, of marriage and the family, and of the freedom of conscience. Catholic media contribute in a most significant way to the work of a new evangelization.

See the full talk here: https://www.zenit.org/en/articles/text-of-cardinal-burke-s-march-24th-speech-to-catholic-media-symposium