ROME: 24th January 2005 -- The 24th January, Feast of St Francis de Sales is the feastday of journalists worldwide.  It is also the day that Pope John Paul II chooses to release his annual message on social communications.

    This year's message for the 39th World Social Communications Day is entitled: The Communications Media: at the service of understanding among peoples.

    In the message, the Pope indicates that the media have an unprecedented possibility for promoting good and fostering harmony amongst peoples.  The media can also choose to do the opposite.  The message urges the promotion of unity in the human family through the correct use of these great resources.

    The message takes up other well-known papal themes in recent years and sees them through the eyes of communication: "communicators have the opportunity to promote a true culture of life" he says, "by distancing themselves from the conspiracy against life".

    The Pope says that his prayer this year on Word Communications Day, set for 8th May is that "men and women of the media will play their part in breaking down the dividing walls of hostility in our world".

    In Salesian provinces and communities around the world, the encouragement has been to promote 24th January as an opportunity to bring together media operators perhaps even in an informal and festive gathering to simply celebrate this moment tied to one of the world's great practical communicators, St Francis de Sales and with the further encouragement of his spiritual son Don Bosco who made the spreading of good books and every possible good media influence in his own time a priority of his mission.