Pope Benedict XVI has told European public service broadcasters that they were "friends and allies" in his mission and that of the Catholic Church.

EBU President Jean Paul Philippot and Director General Ingrid Deltenre, as well as a number of other delegates from international radio networks, were in Rome following the EBU 17th Radio Assembly, hosted by Vatican Radio.

At the special audience for the EBU, on April 30, in Castel Gandolfo, the pontiff urged his guests "not to become discouraged or tempted to give up" before the "challenge of competition from commercial broadcasters … the scarcity of economic resources made more acute by situations of crisis, the impact of developments in new technologies of communication, and the laborious search for viewers and listeners".

Pope Benedict said: "Yours is a public service, a service to the people, to help them each day to know and understand better what is happening and why it is happening, and to communicate actively so as to accompany them in society's journey together."

And he concluded with an appeal to broadcasters to "place your international contacts and activities at the service of reflection and commitment aimed at ensuring that the instruments of social communication promote dialogue, peace and development of peoples in solidarity, overcoming cultural separation, uncertainties and fears".

Click here to read the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's speech to the European Broadcasting Union (in English, French and Italian).