The Theological Lecture “Freedom of Speech Today” held at the Faculty of Catholic Theology

On Monday, 4 March 2019, at the Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Sarajevo, a theological lecture on subject “Freedom of Speech Today” was held. Guest lecturers were Prof. Dr. Nerzuk Ćurak, Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo and Rev’d. Mr. Sci. Josip Vajdner, editor in chief of the Catholic Weekly. The forum was held in the framework of the annual “Religion in Contemporary Society” program, and moderated by Rev’d. Dr. Mario Bernadić.
In the context of considering such a superficial freedom of speech, Rev’d. Bernadić particularly referred to the problem of journalistic sensationalism, claiming that the Latin word sensus (sense) is in the root of the indicated word. This would mean that journalistic sensationalism, with the help of exaggeration, over-estimation and informational manipulation, primarily seeks to influence human feelings, not reason. This is the goal of man's lust for hope, but also of his deepest fears.
Prof. Ćurak entitled his presentation as “Freedom of Speech and Growth of Hate Speech in a Networked Society.” He is of the opinion that the world in which we live has changed and is much more than we think and see at all. Today's time could be called "media time," within which man exists as a "prisoner of media space." This would mean that a person is no longer just a media information user but he himself has become the medium in the meantime. He is happy to recall the information that he or she is listening to, and readily shares and transports various social news. The man seemed to have become an extended hand of the media, just as the smartphone and the tablet became extended by the hand of the man himself. According to prof. Cucumber here is simply an ontological change of man's reality. From the homo sapiens he has moved to “homo connectus.”
Rev’d. Vajdner entitled his presentation as “Mass media - a gift or a curse for mankind.”  Within it, he sought to point to the depth dimension of freedom of speech, as well as to all that speech freedom is not, though publicly presenting. In particular, it referred to the worrying phenomenon of the so-called “Free themes.”  In that sense, in the western media world today there are topics within which everyone laughs: to insult, and to cast out, to defame, and to mock, etc. On the other hand, other topics are shown enclosed and protected by a high and firm wall of political correctness, and they have to be careful about them as they are already writing. It is hard to notice that the Catholic Church today represents one of the most open "free topics" of the Western media space on which it is possible to write and present how and who and what it wants. Nevertheless, Rev’d. Vajdner believes that in today's media space no one is without a chance. Rev’d. Vajdner finally notes that many as though not wanting or knowing how to use these legal options for expressing their own views and opinions, and believes that we should work hard to raise media culture and awareness, especially young generations.
After both presentations, there was an interesting discussion.
The next theological forum will be held on Monday, 1 April, and the topic will be “The Role and Place of Myth in Religion, Culture and Politics.” Otherwise, the program of theological forums at the Catholic Theological Faculty in Sarajevo is held in partnership with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Germany.