Ecumenical association

The department of media and communication is a joint facility of the Catholic and Lutheran Churches that provides educational media and audio-visual devices on a rental basis and offers other services related to media education. Our services are primarily, but not exclusively, directed towards educators who work in parishes, schools or in adult education in the Munich-Freising archdiocese and the Lutheran district office in Munich.

Our rental service includes 16-mm films, videos, DVDs, slides, transparencies and books; all media are included in the printed catalogue or in the online version of our database. The services we offer to our customers include: consultation in person or over the phone, information on new acquisitions at regular intervals, providing opportunities to browse through our materials.

Our second main focus is on involvement in media and communication education, which is accomplished through training courses, lectures, and other events for teachers in adult education and school teachers. The aims of these activities are:

1. teaching people to use multimedia for instructional purposes,
2. raising awareness for the importance of communication processes, and
3. reflecting on these matters within the context of a theology of communication.

The results of our efforts find their way into the muk publication series (ISSN 1416-4244), which we are continuously expanding; the magazine includes a wide range of topics from suggestions for the practical work to theorizing on basic principles.

In reference to our aims and services our motto is: "We teach literature - and the literature of our age is the media." (John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications)

Injustice calls for resistance – justice calls for support

The Christian Initiative Romero (CIR) was established 25 years ago as a means to express Christian solidarity with the Central American liberation movements in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. In 1985 the organization took on the name of San Salvador's assassinated archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, because he is a symbol for Central America. He combined the struggle for Human Rights with the fight against poverty. In memory of Oscar A. Romero we are pursuing social and political justice.

The conflicts in Central America have been resolved, democratization is increasingly catching on, and yet the social problems have not come closer to any kind of solution. It is more important now than ever before to show solidarity with the poor majority of people, but it has become more difficult to identify specific approaches. This is why the CIR has shifted its approach from specialized programs for every single country to more subject-oriented work. Instead of focusing on the current situation in Guatemala, El Salvador or Nicaragua the emphasis is mainly set on general topics concerning all countries, such as the rights of child laborers, the modern theology of deliverance, the impacts of globalization and the working conditions in the clothing industry.

Due to the small number of our very specialized staff, we are able to cooperate with organizations based mainly in Central America and give fast support easily.

Using the example of individual projects, we introduce the public to more general problems affecting specific countries. We are concerned to show how our society has an impact on the lives of people in project countries. In our subject-oriented campaign work we point out how you can help the disadvantaged in Central America.