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Paulo, 1986 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Cornmication 0 Joana T, Puntel 1992 SIMON FEiASER UNIVERSITY 1992 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. National Library Bibliotheque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliographic Services Branch des services bibliograptiit::,us 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OEawa. 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APPROVAL NAME: Joana Terezinha Puntel DEGREE: Doctor of Philosophy T!TLE OF THESIS: The Catholic Church Searching for Democratization of Communication in Latin America EXAMINING COMMlTTEE: CHAIR: Dr. Patricia t-toward Dr. Robert ~ndersch Professor Senior Supentisor Dr. Alison Beale Assistant Professor Dr. Richard Gruneau Professor Professor ~heffgCiria Professor Department of Political Science, SFU - Dr. 61anca Muratorio Associate Professor Department sf Anthropology & Sociology, UBC DATE APPROVED: wdgYI PARTIAL COPYRIGET LICENCE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis or dissertation (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or singlt copies only for such users or in response to a request from ths library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple c~pyingof this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Dissertation: The Catholic Church Searching for Democratization of Communication in Latin America Joana Puntel name October 29, 1992 date ABSTRACT This study analyzes how the Catholic Church in Latin America has, over the past two decades, proposed to demorratize co~mmunication as its rnain contribution to the establishment of a new world information and comunication order. Based specifically on the Latin American Church docliaents on the issue, as well as interviews and observations in the field and secondary literature, the study takes the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) as a point of departure to analyze the Church's thinking on communication, and examines the Latin American Church's decisions related to communication --Medellin and Puebla. It further analyzes the msjor docllments regarding the Church and hX7ICO --Quito Document and Embu (S.Paulo) Document which recommend two ways to establish a process of democratization of communication in Latin America: first, implementation of the national com.unication policies, and second, development of alternative communication as a process and as use of the media. Two case studies --Basic Christian Communities in Brazil and the Popular Centre of S.Miguel (S.Paulo)-- demonstrate how alternative communication was carried out to develop a horizontal pattern of communication that includes the participate-ry process and the use of alternative media. Although the entire Church in at in America adopted the decisions and documents of the Latin American ish hops Conference, this stildy limits its analysis to the progressive side of the Church and argues that the prac~ical efforts for democratization of communication were mainly carried out by the Catholic organizaticns f3r communicat.ion, UNDA-AL, UCLAP, SAL-OCIC. This study further argues that within the framework of liberation theology, alternat i-\;e communications are being implemented particularly among lower-class groups called cornunicacio/Tz gopuiar. These practices by the Church are both philosophical and theological, and are based on the principle that its evangelization must be a liberation process which allows people to become free of the constraints which maintain them at the margins of society, excluding them from a participatory process. This study concludes that the efforts of the Church for the democratization of communication have increased the demand for a similar democratization of internal corntunication also at various levels of the institution of the Church itself. To all people who are struggling for the democratization of ~o~municationin Latin Anerica. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am glateful to my committee Alison Beale and Zick Gruneau for their interest in the subject of this thesis. Special thanks to my senior supervisor Robert Anderson for his support and encouragement in the writing of this thesis. My gratitude to all those professors, students and staff of the Department of Com~unication who are searching for new and alternative ways of thinking communication, and encouraged me to proceed discussing a1t ernat ive communication from the Latin American point of view. I would like to thank all those who helped me during the writing stage, especially Dorothy Kidd, Fergus Folley, and Pilar Riano for emergency computer use. Special acknowledgment to Maria Cevolani, Giovannamaria Carrara, M. Antonieta Bruscato, Ninfa Becker, M. Salete Oliveira, EiLee~l Bannon, iuz Hughes and Sheila Smith for their understanding and continuous support during my studies in Canada, I am also grateful to P.E.O. International for financial support in several semesters, and, also to the Sisters of the Child Jesus in North Vancouver for providing me the necessary environment in the writlng of this thesfs, TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval ii Abstract iii Dedication v Acknowledgments vi INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I 1. The relationship between the Catholic Church and comnication technologies . , . - . , . , . .17 1.1 inku up with the past. 18 1.2 Vigilanti Cura - to support the Legion of Decency on Cinema . , . .25 1.3 Miranda Prorsus - the first major assertion on communication. .28 1.4 Second Vatican Council - point of departure ....,34 1.5 Inter Mirifica - official Church's acceptance of means of communication to develop a pastoral work. , . , . , . 44 1.6 Commnnio et ~roqressio-to carry out Vatican 11.55 CHAPTER I1 2. Liberation theology - a new way to evangelize. .64 2.1 ~istoricalperspective .......................65 2.2 ~iberationtheology as critical reflection .... 75 2 -3 Liberation theology - interpreting terms. 79 2 -4~iberation theology and critique. 88 CHAPTER I11 3, Church and Communication in Latin America. .95 3.1 Church and communication from the beginning .... 95 3.1.1 Educational radio ................. , .,...... 102 3.1.2 MEB - experience with radio schools. -103 3.2 Medellin and Puebla . ... , . , .lo6 3.3 Social communication and changes: 1960 - 1969 ...110 3.4 Social communication and liberation: 1970-1974 ,113 3.5 Social communication and new situations: 1975-1979 ....................,.,s...n...........l18 3.6 Social Communication - challenges for the 1980s.126 3.7 Group communication. .,. .I27 3 .8 People ' s cornmunicat ion - comunicacion popular. -130 CHAPTER IV 4, The Catholic Church and the New World Information and Communication Order .............,..a..~.........~..a.113 4.1 Is the W'rJICO debate over?. ",. a .I34 4.2 People-new socis1 actor in the mICO considerations. , . .140 4.3 The Church supports the equality of rights in information and communication.. , . -147 4.4 The Quito Document - the right to participate and communicate; and alternative communication as an option for the new order.. , .I54 4.4.1 The right to participate and to communicate...l55 4.4.2 Alternative comunication as an option for a new order.