Middle East TV stations 'not suitable for Christian morals'

19 October 2010

BEIRUT: The Middle East has some 1,260 television stations and most of them broadcast morally unsuitable content, according to the director of Tele-Lumiere, Jack Cassy.

Cassy was speaking on Monday at the Vatican, during a Middle East Christian synod that has been convened since October 10 to discuss pastoral issues between Christian communities and fight Islamic extremism.

Cassy, who was speaking in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI and assembled Catholic bishops, said that the majority of the Middle East’s 1,260 television stations broadcasting aired images that were “not suitable for our morals.”

He referred to shows that featured magic, astrology, violence, pornography and fortune telling, describing the phenomena as “a new fad.”

He went on to note that people spent an average of 200 minutes a day, the equivalent of 12 years over a lifetime, in front of the television, and said that children were watching television as frequently as they were in school.

“Before our children reach the age of 20, more than 1,000 crimes will have infiltrated their minds, more than 10,000 violent scenes and more than 100,000 advertisements that exploit women and children. By that time, they will have heard more than 1 million insults,” he added.

Cassy also regretted that some media outlets in the region aired objectionable content by replacing the word “God” with “destiny” and the word “Christmas” with “winter holidays,” or even by portraying Christ as a mythical hero.

He advocated changes within the media and demanded “a safer means of communication.”

Cassy also tackled the role Tele-Lumiere played in the Middle East, and said Tele-Lumiere and its satellite division Noursat were proof of a true quest for Christian unity and inter-religious dialogue in the region.

He stated that Tele-Lumiere, a Christian television station, had 15 million Arab viewers around the world, 6 million of whom were non-Christians.

The station also received the thanks of the pope, for its contributions to the church. – The Daily Star