EUROPE/ITALY - Information at the service of the people with no hint of politicisation based on the teaching of the Gospel says rev. Giorgio Zucchelli, newly elected president Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies

Rome (Fides Service) - “Our diocesan papers are on the side of the people with no hint of politicisation ” Rev Giorgio Zucchelli, editor of the diocesan newspaper issued by Crema diocese ‘Il Nuovo Torrazzo’ and newly elected president of the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies FISC told Fides. “Being on the side of the people means protecting the interests of Catholics and giving a critical evaluation of positions taken by political parties. Today Catholic politicians are not as well informed about religion as in the times of the Christian Democrat party which formed Catholic politicians to evangelise as they worked. With our information we cannot supplement the work of forming politicians which is the task of the respective dioceses, but through intelligent criticism we can valorise political decisions which we deem right and unmask those which are not”.
With his election as FISC president, Rev Giorgio Zucchelli is called to co-ordinate the work of 140 diocesan publications, a total of 1 million copies circulated all over the country. “Our information is 360º. In our newspaper columns we deal with news, culture, opinions. We are an outpost of evangelisation among the people. Many of those reached by our judgements, our articles and our reflections have lost their faith and we are their only contact with the Church. People appreciate our information because it defends the rights of the citizen and looks at event in the light of the Gospel”. “Behind our papers” Rev Zucchelli concludes, “there are people who use our information as a real possibility for democratic and ecclesial discussion”. (Agenzia Fides 14/01/2005 - Righe 22; Parole 285)