The Decree on Communications

A decree is a significant document intended to foster further reflection and set a pace and direction for future discussion. The council’s first decree was the Decree on Communications, approved on Dec. 4, 1963, by a vote of 1,960 to 164. A relatively weak document (evidenced by the fact that it is still seldom read), it was addressed to the media and those who control it. In it, the Council Fathers called for the Church to use modern media to preach the Gospel, and for the faithful to reject what is ungodly in the media.