Catholic Culture, Phil Lawler:
This past weekend the Vatican hosted the signing of the Declaration on Human Fraternity, in a made-for-media extravaganza. Thirty Nobel Prize winners signed the statement. International recording artists performed. The ceremony was simulcast around the world. The show lasted nearly five hours.
But who noticed? Most media outlets ignored the event, and virtually every report that did appear (except in the Vatican’s own news services) mentioned that the attendance at the event was surprisingly light. By the time the ceremony ended, St. Peter’s Square was almost empty. Despite the ballyhoo, it seems, the Declaration on Human Fraternity could not hold public attention even through the day it was launched. Report is here.
