PRESENTATION OF DOCUMENT "ETHICS IN ADVERTISING"

VATICAN CITY, FEB 25, 1997 (VIS) - Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, presented this morning in the Holy See Press Office his council's document on "Ethics in Advertising."

He explained that his dicastery decided to publish this document because "some spheres of the world of social communications had expressed the wish and the hope that the Church would offer a sort of ethics manual on this topic; because members and consultors of the Pontifical Council had suggested a study of this type; and in addition, because perhaps the appropriate time had come to confront the problem."

Archbishop Foley said that "in order for advertising to be truly at the service of man, it must respect some fundamental ethical principles: respect for the truth, respect for the person, respect for sociability; that is, it must always be honest and responsible."

He indicated that the document sought to be a "vade mecum" for advertising professionals and legislators.

Bishop Pierfranco Pastore, secretary of the council, recalled that "the first time that the problem of an eventual publication of a monographic document on advertising was faced" was in the 1994 Plenary Assembly.

During the 1995 Plenary there was reflection on the theme "'Ethics and advertising' ... which generated an interesting debate about a 'study' ... regarding the problems relative to the theme."

"The study and the broad debate that followed it provided the content for a draft of the document ... which was subject to the approval of last year's (1996) Plenary." After examining it, the president of the dicastery delivered it to the Secretariat of State and then, for that which concerned the doctrinal aspects, to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Once the definitive approval of both was obtained, the document was translated from English into five other languages.
OP/ETHICS:ADVERTISING/FOLEY:PASTORE VIS 970225 (310)