Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
1. The Church in every age
continues the work begun on the day of Pentecost, when the
Apostles, in the power of the Holy Spirit, went forth into the
streets of Jerusalem to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many
tongues (cf. Acts 2:5-11). Through the succeeding centuries,
this evangelizing mission spread to the far corners of the earth,
as Christianity took root in many places and learned to speak the
diverse languages of the world, always in obedience to Christ's
command to preach the Gospel to every nation (cf. Mt
28:19-20).
But the history of
evangelization is not just a matter of geographic expansion, for
the Church has also had to cross many cultural thresholds, each of
which called for fresh energy and imagination in proclaiming the
one Gospel of Jesus Christ. The age of the great discoveries,
the Renaissance and the invention of printing, the Industrial
Revolution and the birth of the modern world: these too were
threshold moments which demanded new forms of evangelization. Now,
with the communications and information revolution in full swing,
the Church stands unmistakably at another decisive gateway. It
is fitting therefore that on this World Communications Day
2002 we should reflect on the subject: “Internet: A New Forum for
Proclaiming the Gospel".
2. The Internet is
certainly a new “forum” understood in the ancient Roman sense of
that public space where politics and business were transacted,
where religious duties were fulfilled where much of the social life
of the city took place, and where the best and the worst of human
nature was on display. lt was a crowded and bustling urban space,
which both reflected the surrounding culture and created a culture
of its own. This is no less true of cyberspace, which is as it were
a new frontier opening up at the beginning of this new millennium.
Like the new frontiers of other times, this one too is full of the
interplay of danger and promise, and not without the sense of
adventure which marked other great periods of change. For the
Church the new world of cyberspace is a summons to the great
adventure of using its potential to proclaim the Gospel message.
This challenge is at the heart of what it means at the beginning of
the millennium to follow the Lord's command to "put out into the
deep”: Duc in altum! (Lk 5:4).
3. The Church approaches
this new medium with realism and confidence. Like other
communications media, it is a means, not an end in itself. The
Internet can offer magnificent opportunities for evangelization if
used with competence and a clear awareness of its strengths and
weaknesses. Above all, by providing information and stirring
interest it makes possible an initial encounter with the Christian
message, especially among the young who increasingly turn to the
world of cyberspace as a window on the world. It is important,
therefore, that the Christian community think of very practical
ways of helping those who flrst rnake contact through the Internet
to move from the virtual world of cyberspace to the real world of
Christian community.
At a subsequent stage, the
Internet can also provide the kind of follow-up which
evangelization requires. Especially in an unsupportive
culture, Christian living calls for continuing instruction and
catechesis, and this is perhaps the area in which the Internet can
provide excellent help. There already exist on the Net countless
sources of information, documentation and education about the
Church, her history and tradition, her doctrine and her engagement
in every field in all parts of the world. It is clear, then, that
while the Internet can never replace that profound experience of
God which only the living, liturgical and sacramental life of the
Church can offer, it can certainly provide a unique supplement and
support in both preparing for the encounter with Christ in
community, and sustaining the new believer in the journey of faith
which then begins.
4. There are nevertheless
certain necessary, even obvious, questions which arise in using the
Internet in the cause of evangelization. The essence of the
Internet in fact is that it provides an almost unending flood of
information, much of which passes in a moment. In a culture which
feeds on the ephemeral there can easily be a risk of believing that
it is facts that matter, rather than values. The Internet offers
extensive knowledge, but it does not teach values; and when values
are disregarded, our very humanity is demeaned and man easily loses
sight of his transcendent dignity. Despite its enormous potential
for good, some of the degrading and damaging ways in which the
Internet can be used are already obvious to all, and public
authorities surely have a responsibility to guarantee that this
marvellous instrument serves the common good and does not become a
source of harm.
Furthermore, the Internet
radically redefines a person's psychological relationship to time
and space. Attention is rivetted on what is tangible, useful,
instantly available; the stimulus for deeper thought and reflection
may be lacking. Yet human beings have a vital need for time and
inner quiet to ponder and examine life and its mysteries, and to
grow gradually into a mature dominion of themselves and of the
world around them. Understanding and wisdom are the fruit of a
contemplative eye upon the world, and do not come from a mere
accumulation of facts, no matter how interesting. They are the
result of an insight which penetrates the deeper meaning of things
in relation to one another and to the whole of reality. Moreover,
as a forum in which practically everything is acceptable and almost
nothing is lasting, the Internet favours a relativistic way of
thinking and sometimes feeds the flight from personal
responsibility and commitment.
In such a context, how are
we to cultivate that wisdom which comes not just from information
but from insight, the wisdom which understands the difference
between right and wrong, and sustains the scale of values which
flows from that difference?
5. The fact that through
the Internet people multiply their contacts in ways hitherto
unthinkable opens up wonderful possibilities for spreading the
Gospel. But it is also true that electronically mediated
relationships can never take the place of the direct human contact
required for genuine evangelization. For evangelization always
depends upon the personal witness of the one sent to evangelize
(cf. Rom 10:14-15). How does the Church lead from the kind
of contact made possible by the Internet to the deeper
communication demanded by Christian proclamation? How do we build
upon the first contact and exchange of information which the
Internet makes possible?
There is no doubt that the
electronic revolution holds out the promise of great positive
breakthroughs for the developing world; but there is also the
possibility that it will in fact aggravate existing inequalities as
the information and communications gap widens. How can we ensure
that the information and communications revolution which has the
Internet as its prime engine will work in favour of the
globalization of human development and solidarity, objectives
closely linked to the Church's evangelizing
mission?
Finally, in these troubled
times, let me ask: how can we ensure that this wondrous instrument
first conceived in the context of military operations can now serve
the cause of peace? Can it favour that culture of dialogue,
participation, solidarity and reconciliation without which peace
cannot flourish? The Church believes it can; and to ensure that
this is what will happen she is determined to enter this new forum,
armed with the Gospel of Christ, the Prince of
Peace.
6. The Internet causes
billions of images to appear on millions of computer monitors
around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the
face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it is
only when his face is seen and his voice heard that the world wilI
know the glad tidings of our redemption. This is the purpose of
evangelization. And this is what will make the Internet a genuinely
human space, for if there is no room for Christ, there is no room
for man. Therefore, on this World Communications Day, I dare to
summon the whole Church bravely to cross this new threshold, to put
out into the deep of the Net, so that now as in the past the great
engagement of the Gospel and culture may show to the world "the
glory of God on the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). May the
Lord bless all those who work for this aim.
From the Vatican, 24
January 2002, the Feast of Saint Francis de Sales
JOHN PAUL
II
World
Communications Day
The Catholic Church has marked World
Communications Day as the Sunday after Ascension every year since
1967. It is a day on which Catholics are asked to pray for
Christians in the media, that they may use their work wisely to
promote the gospel.
Every year the Pope writes a message
for World Communications Day, and this year's message - with the
theme, 'Preach from the housetops' - is set out
above.
Catholics are also asked to reflect
on how they could use the media to publicise Christian values, as
well as to contribute financially to the Church's activities in
this field. In England and Wales, this takes the form of a
collection to finance the work of the Catholic Communications
Centre and the Catholic Media
Office.
The Communications Day collection
also supports the bishops' Communications Committee, which meets
four times a year and advises the bishops on communications
policies and
strategies.
Catholic Media Office
39 Eccleston Square, London SWIV 1BX
In his
message for this year’s World Day of Social Communications (May
12th, 2002), the Holy Father has expressed his desire
that – obedient to the commandment of Christ to spread the Gospel
to all nations – the Church and the faithful use the Internet to
allow the world “to contemplate the face of Christ” and “to hear
His voice”. For the Church, the new cyberspace means a new
threshold and a new possibility of announcing the Gospel. The
Internet can be at the service of peace, reconciliation, dialogue,
solidarity…
While
inviting the Church to use more Internet in announcing the Good
News and in bringing Christ close to the world, John Paul II
underlines that this media cannot replace the experience of the
presence of God obtained through the sacraments and the liturgical
community of the Church. The Church has to find means and ways to
lead Internet users from the “virtual world of computers to the
real world of Christian community”, and later to continue to
announce and to deepen faith. The Pope invites all users of the
Internet to grow in wisdom that does not come from information
only, but from understanding of the difference between good and
evil. In spite of some negative aspects of the Internet, Pope
invites the whole Church to courageously cross this threshold, to
plunge into the Net, in order to show to the world “the glory of
God, which shines on the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6).
>
Along with
the Pope’s Message for the World Day of Social Communications
2002, about the Internet, published on January 24, 2002, the
Pontifical Council for the Means of Social Communications
(PONTIFICIUM CONSILIUM DE COMMUNICATIONIBUS SOCIALIBUS) on
February 22, 2002, published two documents on the theme of the
Internet: The Church and Internet” and “Ethics in
Internet”
Penzance Catholic
Church -Parish
of The Holy Family >"vatican"
