ZE090123
ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - January 23, 2009
VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope Gives Task to Youth: Evangelize the Net
Benedict XVI Is Latest YouTube Star
Vatican Aide: Media-Day Message a "Turning Point"
Digital Age Seen as Revolutionary
Pontiff Urges Syriac Leader to Remember Diaspora
Dialogue Forges Ahead With Anglicans, Methodists
Macedonian Leader Visits Benedict XVI
NEWS BRIEFS
Agnostic Ad Tour Stirs Up Defense of Religion
INTERVIEW
Reflections of an Ambassador
SPIRITUALITY
6th Meditation for Christian Unity Prayer Week
DOCUMENTS
Benedict XVI's Message for Media Day
Press Statement on the Pope's Media Message
Pope Gives Task to Youth: Evangelize the Net
Addresses "Digital Generation" in Communications MessageVATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI has an invitation for young Catholics: to bring their faith to the digital world as they have "an almost spontaneous affinity" for using the new means of communication.
The Pope made this exhortation in his message for the May 24 World Communications Day. The message was released today by the Vatican, though it is dated Jan. 24, feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists.
The message is titled with the theme for this year's world day: "New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."
The Holy Father said his message is particularly geared toward the "so-called digital generation," and aims to "share with them, in particular, some ideas concerning the extraordinary potential of the new technologies, if they are used to promote human understanding and solidarity."
The Pontiff called these new technologies a true "gift to humanity."
Connected world
Benedict XVI noted how cell phones, computers and the Internet permit "almost instantaneous communication of words and images across enormous distances and to some of the most isolated corners of the world; something that would have been unthinkable for previous generations."
He said, "Many benefits flow from this new culture of communication: families are able to maintain contact across great distances; students and researchers have more immediate and easier access to documents, sources and scientific discoveries, hence they can work collaboratively from different locations; moreover, the interactive nature of many of the new media facilitates more dynamic forms of learning and communication, thereby contributing to social progress."
And while the progress of new technologies is "rightly a source of wonder," the Holy Father added, "their popularity with users should not surprise us."
This, he said, is because they respond to a "fundamental desire" of people: the desire to communicate and relate with one another, something rooted in human nature itself.
"When we find ourselves drawn toward other people, when we want to know more about them and make ourselves known to them, we are responding to God’s call -- a call that is imprinted in our nature as beings created in the image and likeness of God, the God of communication and communion," the Pope contended. "[W]hen we open ourselves to others, we are fulfilling our deepest need and becoming more fully human. Loving is, in fact, what we are designed for by our Creator. […]
"In this light, reflecting on the significance of the new technologies, it is important to focus not just on their undoubted capacity to foster contact between people, but on the quality of the content that is put into circulation using these means."
Making friends
Benedict XVI highlighted the "renewed prominence" of the concept of friendship in the vocabulary of digital social networks. While considering friendship one of the "greatest goods any human person can experience," he cautioned against trivializing the concept or experience.
"It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbors and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation," he stated. "If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development."
Finally, the Holy Father made an invitation to "young Catholic believers," encouraging them to "bring the witness of their faith to the digital world."
"Dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to introduce into the culture of this new environment of communications and information technology the values on which you have built your lives," he said. "[T]he proclamation of Christ in the world of new technologies requires a profound knowledge of this world if the technologies are to serve our mission adequately.
"It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this 'digital continent.' Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: The greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the 'Good News' of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people."
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Full text: www.zenit.org/article-24879?l=english
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Benedict XVI Is Latest YouTube Star
Pope Gives Thumbs Up to Vatican InitiativeVATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican launched today a channel on YouTube that will provide video news clips on the Pope's activities, currently in four languages, including English.
One or two video clips will be provided each day at www.youtube.com/vatican.
According to Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, the Holy Father is the first supporter of the initiative.
"The Pope has been personally informed of our project and has approved it with his customary poise and warmth," he said. "For us, this is a great motivation."
The project has been under way for more than a year and a half, the Jesuit said, ever since Vatican Radio and the Vatican Television Center began to publish clips on their Web pages and make them available to TV stations and Web sites.
Father Lombardi said that the agency H2O News has offered important collaboration "in this spreading to the world of Catholic social communications."
The Vatican channel at YouTube has a link to H2O, under a tab offering "more videos on the Catholic Church around the world."
Filling a gap
Father Lombardi contended that all around the world, there are people "interested in the messages and proposals of a high level moral authority -- as the Pope is, and in general the Catholic Church -- regarding the great problems of the world today.
"That's why YouTube has been chosen as an adequate platform for being present on the Net, in one of the great Areopagus of communication in the world of today, and to be present regularly, to offer a reference point worthy of trust, and to continue beyond the many fragments of information about the Pope and the Vatican present on the Web in a rather more casual and sprawled-out way," he said.
In addition to the H2O link, the site also links to the Vatican's official site, as well as the site for Vatican City State, Vatican Radio and Vatican TV.
The channel also offers the possibility of sending an e-mail to the Holy See, which will be received by Father Lombardi's staff.
"The launching of a canal such as this is obviously the beginning of the road," the spokesman said. "With the collaboration of Google […] we can foresee developments and improvements both in the content and in the technical area.
"We are convinced about making a beautiful and constructive offer for people of the Net and beginning this road with trust, with an attitude of friendship and dialogue with everyone, also ready to learn a lot ourselves."
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On the Net:
Vatican channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/vatican
H2O on YouTube www.youtube.com/h2onews
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Vatican Aide: Media-Day Message a "Turning Point"
Archbishop Celli Notes Pros and Cons of New TechnologiesVATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's message to youth on the possibilities and dangers of the digital age constitutes something of an "authentic turning point," says Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli.
The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications said this Friday upon presenting the Pope's message for the 43rd World Communications Day, which will be observed May 24. The theme for the day is ""New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."
To a room packed with more than 200 journalists and 24 television cameras, the president of the media dicastery noted that while "all messages that accompany the World Communications Day has its story, I don't think I exaggerate too much when I say that we are seeing, on this occasion, an authentic turning point."
"Perhaps never before has a message been so strong and so demanding," he added.
The archbishop said the theme itself "not only puts us at the center of new technologies, but it also explores its effects, and it does so directed in particular to the digital generation, interacting in a particular way with the youth."
"The message underlines the values promoted in this environment, beginning with friendship and the new network of relationships that now are possible thanks precisely to these new technologies," said Archbishop Celli.
The Italian prelate added that the new technologies also make long-distance relationships possible, whether they be personal relationships with distant family members, or work relationships with colleges on other continents.
"We really are in a new world," he said, "that is explored not so much by opening our eyes wide to see the new conquests, but by opening the heart to the hope of the great possibilities that can be seen for the common good."
Archbishop Celli said this aspect "stands out even more if we think that the message also warns, with realism, of the dangers linked not only to the distorted use of the media, but to the imbalance of its possible use."
He spoke of the "digital divide" that many say will lead to a greater wealth gap, given that "the new technologies are primary resources for the development and promotion of the human being."
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Digital Age Seen as Revolutionary
Vatican Aide Says It Changed How People CommunicateVATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The new technologies of the digital age have not only affected the tools people use to communicate, but it has revolutionized how people share information and ideas, form groups and obtain knowledge, says a Vatican Aide.
Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said this today at the press conference that released Benedict XVI's message for the 43rd World Communications Day. The theme for the day is "New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."He noted that the message was addressed primarily to the "digital generation." He explained this refers to those who use the new technologies "spontaneously and almost intuitively," and have "come of age in the world of computers, mobile telephones, text and instant messaging, blogging, platforms for video content, Internet chat rooms and online social networks."
The changes of the digital age, Monsignor Thighe said, are more than just technological: "They have also revolutionized the culture of communications. They have changed the ways people communicate, the ways they associate and form communities, the ways by which they learn about the world, the ways in which they engage with political and commercial organizations."
He said in the past the media was a one-way process, where the media passed information onto a "passive" audience. "It is clear that today we must understand the audience as more selectively and interactively engaging with a wider range of media.
"The logic of communications has been radically changed -- the focus on the media has been replaced by a concentration on the audience which is increasingly autonomous and deliberative in its consumption of media."
Pitfalls
The Vatican aide said Benedict XVI in his message for World Communications Day "invites all those who engage with the new media to be attentive to the content they are generating, sharing or drawing to the attention of others. It is inviting them to avoid the creation or distribution of words or images that are abusive or lacking in respect for the dignity or worth of other people."
Pointing to some of the pitfalls of the new technologies, Monsignor Tighe said users need to be "prudent" in what they post on the Internet. "Material posted electronically is not easily removed and no one wants to live with a permanent reminder of youthful excesses or ill-advised utterances."
He said the message also points out how the new technologies that aim to keep people connected can be "invasive and demanding," and in a twist of irony can serve to "isolate people from more immediate forms of social interaction with family, friends and colleagues."
Having said that, Monsignor Tighe said the message also focuses on the positive: It "concentrates on the theme of friendship as a point of contact between all people of good will. It celebrates the capacity of the new technologies to foster and support good and healthy relationships and various forms of solidarity.
"It appeals to friendship as a motive to ensure that the new digital world is truly accessible to all. It finds in friendship a shared reference point with all of humanity that grounds the appeal of the message to promote a culture where there is respect for all and where all are invited to search for truth in dialogue."
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Full text: www.zenit.org/article-24885?l=english
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Pontiff Urges Syriac Leader to Remember Diaspora
New Patriarch Brings Ministry Experience From AmericaVATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is mindful of Eastern Catholics living outside of their motherlands, and is asking the new patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians to help them protect their spiritual heritage.
The Pope said this today when he addressed His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, elected Tuesday at a synod in Rome. The new patriarch was born in Syria in 1944, but since 1986, has served at the eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in Newark, New Jersey.
The Holy Father urged the patriarch and Syriac Catholics to be beacons of peace in the Middle East, "where the Syrian Church has an appreciated historical presence."
"My desire is that in the East, from where the proclamation of the Gospel came, the Christian communities continue living and giving testimony of their faith, as they have done throughout the centuries," he added.
The Pontiff also urged the patriarch to take up the call to evangelize, "without losing your proper identity and bringing the mark of Eastern spirituality," so that "using the words of the East and the West, the Church speaks effectively of Christ to contemporary man."
"In this way, Christians will face the most urgent challenges of humanity," he continued, "building up peace and universal solidarity, and they will give testimony of the 'great hope' of which they are tireless messengers."
Recalling Syriac Christians living in other lands, Benedict XVI urged the patriarch to give them pastoral attention so that they can "fruitfully remain connected to their religious roots."
"Thus, the ties will be even stronger with the motherland, which so many Eastern [Christians] have had to leave in search of better conditions of life," he said.
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, presided over the synod that elected the new patriarch.
The new patriarch followed Syriac tradition in taking the name Ignace, in honor of St. Ignatius of Antioch.
The Pope immediately conceded him ecclesiastical communion in a letter dated Thursday.
The Syriac Catholic Church separated from Rome after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, but returned to full communion more than a millennium later.
Its see is in Beirut, Lebanon, and in its liturgy, it still uses Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ.
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Dialogue Forges Ahead With Anglicans, Methodists
Pontifical Council Official Notes Progress in '08VATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Despite difficulties with the Anglican and Methodist confessions, ecumenical dialogue forges ahead with them as well, confirmed a Vatican aide.
Monsignor Mark Langham, an official at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in the section that deals with Anglicans and Methodists, affirmed this to L'Osservatore Romano. The Vatican daily is doing a series of articles on the advance of ecumenism, in light of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which ends Sunday.
The monsignor said that 2008 was an important year for dialogue, given that informal contacts were established with leaders of both confessions.
In work with the Anglicans, he said he considered it very significant that a Catholic delegation, headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican's unity council, attended the Lambeth Conference in late July. That once-a-decade conference was marked by conflict within the Anglican Communion this year, over debates about the episcopal ordination of women and the ministry of homosexuals.
At the conference, Monsignor Langham said, the cardinal "could speak frankly about the harmful impact" of these situations on ecumenical dialogue.
Though resolutions might not have been adopted, the monsignor continued, this frankness was important in regard to informal talks during the year, particularly through the Anglican Center of Rome. Reaching unity and integrity within Anglican doctrine will be the fundamental point for a reactivation of official dialogue, he added.
And regarding the Methodists, Monsignor Langham pointed to "cordial meetings" throughout the year, particularly one in Dublin between Reverend Geoffrey Wainwright and Bishop Michael Putney of Townsville, Australia.
In that meeting, the Christian leaders approved a joint statement, "Together in Holiness," which reviews the steps made in 40 years of Methodist-Catholic dialogue. Despite great differences in regard to doctrine, both parties prepared a new stage, which will be marked by a joint document to be presented at the World Methodist Conference in Australia in 2011.
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Macedonian Leader Visits Benedict XVI
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The president of Macedonia visited Benedict XVI in Rome today, thanking Vatican officials for the Holy See's attention to the country since its 1991 independence.Branko Crvenkovski met with the Pope and subsequently with the Holy Father's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with states.
He expressed "his recognition for the attention manifested by the Holy See toward his country since independence," a Vatican communiqué reported.
The leaders spoke of the good relations between the Holy See and Macedonia, as shown by the "annual visit of an official delegation to Rome on the occasion of the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius."
Macedonia separated peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991, but Greece objected to it using the name Macedonia and thus international recognition was delayed.
The nation established diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1994.
Almost 65% of its 2 million residents are Orthodox and 33% are Muslim. Other Christian confessions make up just 0.37% of the population.
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Agnostic Ad Tour Stirs Up Defense of Religion
MADRID, Spain, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Public spaces should not be used to offend citizens, say Spanish bishops in response to an agnostic ad campaign that is touring the world.With precedents in Great Britain and the United States, the ads run on Madrid buses, reading "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
While defending freedom of speech, the bishops stated that "public spaces that citizens are obliged to use should not be used for public messages that offend the religious convictions of many of them."
Christians have answered the campaign in Britain and the United States with various tactics.
In England, a Christian group reported the ads to the agency that monitors advertising, basing their complaint on a policy that prohibits ads from making unfounded claims. The Christian group contended that there is no proof for the ads' declaration that God probably does not exist.
In the United States, meanwhile, where the bus campaign ads read "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," a Catholic mom answered with her own advertising campaign, also for buses. Her ad read: "Why believe? Because I created you and I love you, for goodness' sake" and it was signed, "God."
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Interview with Mary Ann Glendon
By Irene Lagan
BOSTON, Massachusetts, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- As newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama embarks on his new mission to steer the United States in a new direction, many of the ambassadors appointed by the former administration are heading back home.
Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon, who represented the United States before the Holy See, has already returned to Boston, where she is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University. The former ambassador will also resume her work as the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
In this interview with ZENIT, Glendon offered some reflections on her term of service in Rome, which lasted little less than a year.
Q: After representing the Vatican for so many years, what was it like to represent the United States to the Holy See?
Glendon: As a representative of the Holy See in U.N. settings I was engaged in the sort of work to which we lawyers are accustomed -- advocacy focused on specific issues such as development goals and human rights. What made the position of ambassador to the Holy See especially fascinating for me was its variety. Practically every day brought new experiences and insights because the concerns of the Vatican, like those of the United States, are worldwide in scope.
The Holy See has diplomatic relations with 177 nations; its moral voice reaches almost every corner of the earth, and its networks of parishes, dioceses, and humanitarian aid workers make it an extraordinary "listening post." Much of my work also involved "public diplomacy" -- speaking and writing on issues of common concern to the United States and the Holy See.
And of course I was responsible for the day-to-day administration of a small but very busy embassy. For someone like myself who teaches in the international field, it was a great privilege to be able to acquire first-hand knowledge about the U.S. State Department, the Holy See Diplomatic Corps, and the art of diplomacy as it is practiced in these challenging times.
Q: What were your greatest accomplishments, and challenges, during your tenure as ambassador?
Glendon: I feel very fortunate to have served at a time when relations between the United States and the Holy See were especially close, as evidenced by Benedict XVI's historic visit to the United States in April 2008, and the extraordinary hospitality shown to President George Bush on his visit to the Vatican in June.
Not only did the Pope and the president share a common outlook on a wide range of social and cultural issues, but there was a strong correspondence between the views of the U.S. government and the Holy See on the importance of strengthening the global moral consensus against terror (especially against the use of religion as a justification for violence); promoting human rights (especially religious freedom); fostering interreligious dialogue; and combating poverty, hunger and disease through partnerships between government and faith-based institutions.
In our increasingly interdependent but conflict-ridden world, it is a challenge to find ways to lift up and reinforce those shared values. But an excellent opportunity to do so was afforded by the coincidence this year of the 25th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the United States and the Holy See with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Since the declaration expresses so many of the ideals to which both the United States and the Holy See are dedicated, the conjunction of those anniversaries provided many occasions to explore and expand common ground. Accordingly, I arranged for our embassy to sponsor a series of conferences on various aspects of human rights. I'm happy to say that they were very well attended -- and I believe they helped to deepen the bilateral relationship while acquainting new audiences with the highest and best of America's traditions.
Q: In your outset of your tenure as ambassador, you mentioned that a priority would be to highlight the issue of human rights. As you are leaving your current post, what is your perspective on the state of human rights globally?
Glendon: Looking around the contemporary world, no one can deny that struggle for human freedom and dignity has a long way to go. But the human rights movement that gathered momentum in the latter half of the 20th century does have impressive accomplishments to its credit: It played an important role in the fall of totalitarian regimes in Eastern Europe and apartheid in South Africa; it has helped to shine the spotlight of publicity on abuses that would otherwise have been ignored; and it has effectively discredited the assumption that a nation's treatment of its own citizens is exclusively that nation's business. As Benedict XVI said in his speech to the United Nations last year, "Human rights are increasingly being presented as the common language and ethical substratum of international relations."
But, sad to say, the more the human rights idea has shown its power, the more intense has become the struggle to capture that power for various ends, not all of which are respectful of human dignity. Human rights ideals are under direct assault from cultural and philosophical relativists who deny that any values are universal. At the same time, they are being undermined indirectly -- by escalating demands for new rights, by the spread of selective approaches to the common core of basic rights, by hyper-individualistic interpretations of rights, and by forgetfulness of the relation between rights and responsibilities.
Q: In your encounters with Benedict XVI, what stands out as most memorable?
Glendon: Certainly I will never forget the visit of Benedict XVI to the United States, so filled with striking moments and images, with each speech so full of hope and encouragement, and so perfectly tailored to the audience to which it was primarily addressed. After spending a year in Rome, I will also remember quieter moments that were especially revealing of the pastoral character of this wise and gentle man -- his gift for speaking about God with children and young people, and his tender fatherly words to newly ordained Roman priests.
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6th Meditation for Christian Unity Prayer Week
"Take Time to Meet and Talk With the Sick Man"VATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a meditation jointly prepared by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches for the sixth day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The week continues through Sunday, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle. The theme for 2009 is "That They May Become One in Your Hand" (Ezekiel 37:17).
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Day 6
Christians Face-to-Face With Disease and Suffering
1 Kings 20:1-6 -- "Remember me, O Lord!"
Psalm 22:1-11 -- "Why have you forsaken me?"
James 5:13-15 -- "The prayer of faith will save the sick"
Mark 10:46-52 -- "Jesus asked: What do you want me to do for you?"
Commentary
How often Jesus encounters the sick and is willing to heal them! Common to all our still separated churches is the awareness of our Lord’s compassion for the sick. Christians have always followed his example, by healing the sick, building hospitals, dispensaries, organizing medical missions and caring not only for the souls but also the bodies of God’s children.
This is not such an obvious response; the healthy tend to take health for granted and forget those who cannot take part in the regular life of the community because they are sick or handicapped. And the sick? They may feel cut off from God, his presence, blessing and healing power.
The deep-rooted faith of Hezekiah supports him through sickness. In a time of sorrow, he finds words to remind God of his grace. Yes, those who are suffering might even use words from the Bible to cry out or struggle with God: Why have you forsaken me? When an honest relationship with God is well established, grounded in language of faithfulness and thankfulness in good times, it creates space also for a language to express sorrow, pain or anger in prayer when necessary.
The sick are not objects and not only at the receiving end of care; rather, they are subjects of faith, as the disciples must learn in the story of the gospel of Mark. The disciples want to continue directly along their way with Jesus; the sick man on the edge of the crowd is ignored. When he cries out, it is a diversion from their goal. We are used to caring for the sick, but we are not so used to their crying loudly and disturbing us. Their cries today may be for affordable medicine in poor countries, which touches the question of patents and profits. The disciples who wanted to prevent the blind man getting near Jesus have to become the messengers of the Lord’s rather different and caring response: Come, he is calling you.
It is only when the disciples bring the sick man to Jesus that they come to understand what Jesus wants: to take time to meet and talk with the sick man, asking what he wants and needs. A healing community can grow when the sick experience the presence of God through a mutual relationship with their sisters and brothers in Christ.
Prayer
God, listen to people when they cry to you in sickness and pain. May the healthy thank you for their wellbeing, And may they serve the sick with loving hearts and open hands. God, let all of us live in your grace and providence, becoming a truly healing community and praising you together. Amen.
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On the Net:
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/
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Benedict XVI's Message for Media Day
"New Technologies, New Relationships"VATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the message Benedict XVI released today for the 43rd World Communications Day, which will be observed May 24.
The message is titled "New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In anticipation of the forthcoming World Communications Day, I would like to address to you some reflections on the theme chosen for this year -- "New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship." The new digital technologies are, indeed, bringing about fundamental shifts in patterns of communication and human relationships. These changes are particularly evident among those young people who have grown up with the new technologies and are at home in a digital world that often seems quite foreign to those of us who, as adults, have had to learn to understand and appreciate the opportunities it has to offer for communications. In this year’s message, I am conscious of those who constitute the so-called digital generation and I would like to share with them, in particular, some ideas concerning the extraordinary potential of the new technologies, if they are used to promote human understanding and solidarity. These technologies are truly a gift to humanity and we must endeavour to ensure that the benefits they offer are put at the service of all human individuals and communities, especially those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable.
The accessibility of mobile telephones and computers, combined with the global reach and penetration of the internet, has opened up a range of means of communication that permit the almost instantaneous communication of words and images across enormous distances and to some of the most isolated corners of the world; something that would have been unthinkable for previous generations. Young people, in particular, have grasped the enormous capacity of the new media to foster connectedness, communication and understanding between individuals and communities, and they are turning to them as means of communicating with existing friends, of meeting new friends, of forming communities and networks, of seeking information and news, and of sharing their ideas and opinions. Many benefits flow from this new culture of communication: families are able to maintain contact across great distances; students and researchers have more immediate and easier access to documents, sources and scientific discoveries, hence they can work collaboratively from different locations; moreover, the interactive nature of many of the new media facilitates more dynamic forms of learning and communication, thereby contributing to social progress.
While the speed with which the new technologies have evolved in terms of their efficiency and reliability is rightly a source of wonder, their popularity with users should not surprise us, as they respond to a fundamental desire of people to communicate and to relate to each other. This desire for communication and friendship is rooted in our very nature as human beings and cannot be adequately understood as a response to technical innovations. In the light of the biblical message, it should be seen primarily as a reflection of our participation in the communicative and unifying Love of God, who desires to make of all humanity one family. When we find ourselves drawn towards other people, when we want to know more about them and make ourselves known to them, we are responding to God’s call – a call that is imprinted in our nature as beings created in the image and likeness of God, the God of communication and communion.
The desire for connectedness and the instinct for communication that are so obvious in contemporary culture are best understood as modern manifestations of the basic and enduring propensity of humans to reach beyond themselves and to seek communion with others. In reality, when we open ourselves to others, we are fulfilling our deepest need and becoming more fully human. Loving is, in fact, what we are designed for by our Creator. Naturally, I am not talking about fleeting, shallow relationships, I am talking about the real love that is at the very heart of Jesus’ moral teaching: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" and "You must love your neighbour as yourself" (cf. Mk 12:30-31). In this light, reflecting on the significance of the new technologies, it is important to focus not just on their undoubted capacity to foster contact between people, but on the quality of the content that is put into circulation using these means. I would encourage all people of good will who are active in the emerging environment of digital communication to commit themselves to promoting a culture of respect, dialogue and friendship.
Those who are active in the production and dissemination of new media content, therefore, should strive to respect the dignity and worth of the human person. If the new technologies are to serve the good of individuals and of society, all users will avoid the sharing of words and images that are degrading of human beings, that promote hatred and intolerance, that debase the goodness and intimacy of human sexuality or that exploit the weak and vulnerable.
The new technologies have also opened the way for dialogue between people from different countries, cultures and religions. The new digital arena, the so-called cyberspace, allows them to encounter and to know each other’s traditions and values. Such encounters, if they are to be fruitful, require honest and appropriate forms of expression together with attentive and respectful listening. The dialogue must be rooted in a genuine and mutual searching for truth if it is to realize its potential to promote growth in understanding and tolerance. Life is not just a succession of events or experiences: it is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by those who see us merely as consumers in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth.
The concept of friendship has enjoyed a renewed prominence in the vocabulary of the new digital social networks that have emerged in the last few years. The concept is one of the noblest achievements of human culture. It is in and through our friendships that we grow and develop as humans. For this reason, true friendship has always been seen as one of the greatest goods any human person can experience. We should be careful, therefore, never to trivialize the concept or the experience of friendship. It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbours and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation. If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development.
Friendship is a great human good, but it would be emptied of its ultimate value if it were to be understood as an end in itself. Friends should support and encourage each other in developing their gifts and talents and in putting them at the service of the human community. In this context, it is gratifying to note the emergence of new digital networks that seek to promote human solidarity, peace and justice, human rights and respect for human life and the good of creation. These networks can facilitate forms of co-operation between people from different geographical and cultural contexts that enable them to deepen their common humanity and their sense of shared responsibility for the good of all. We must, therefore, strive to ensure that the digital world, where such networks can be established, is a world that is truly open to all. It would be a tragedy for the future of humanity if the new instruments of communication, which permit the sharing of knowledge and information in a more rapid and effective manner, were not made accessible to those who are already economically and socially marginalized, or if it should contribute only to increasing the gap separating the poor from the new networks that are developing at the service of human socialization and information.
I would like to conclude this message by addressing myself, in particular, to young Catholic believers: to encourage them to bring the witness of their faith to the digital world. Dear Brothers and Sisters, I ask you to introduce into the culture of this new environment of communications and information technology the values on which you have built your lives. In the early life of the Church, the great Apostles and their disciples brought the Good News of Jesus to the Greek and Roman world. Just as, at that time, a fruitful evangelization required that careful attention be given to understanding the culture and customs of those pagan peoples so that the truth of the gospel would touch their hearts and minds, so also today, the proclamation of Christ in the world of new technologies requires a profound knowledge of this world if the technologies are to serve our mission adequately. It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this "digital continent". Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: the greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the "Good News" of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people. Human hearts are yearning for a world where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. Our faith can respond to these expectations: may you become its heralds! The Pope accompanies you with his prayers and his blessing.
From the Vatican, 24 January 2009
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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Press Statement on the Pope's Media Message
"Addressed Primarily, Although Not Exclusively, to the Digital Generation"VATICAN CITY, JAN. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the statement Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, gave today at the press conference that released Benedict XVI's message for the 43rd World Communications Day.
The theme for the day is "New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."
* * *This year's message is addressed primarily, although not exclusively, to the digital generation. The digital generation refers in general to those who have grown up with the new ICTs and who use them spontaneously and almost intuitively. Some commentators have used the terms "digital natives" or "born digital" to refer to this cohort and to distinguish them from other users of digital technologies, sometimes called "digital immigrants", who use the new technologies with varying degrees of competence and enthusiasm but whose basic communication skills were developed with an analogical paradigm.
The digital generation has come of age in the world of computers, mobile telephones, text and instant messaging, blogging, platforms for video content, internet chat rooms and on-line social networks. It would be a mistake, however, to see these changes as merely technological; they have also revolutionized the culture of communications. They have changed the ways people communicate, the ways they associate and form communities, the ways by which they learn about the world, the ways in which they engage with political and commercial organizations. Whereas in the past, we tended to see the reader, listener or watcher of media as a passive spectator of centrally generated content, it is clear that today we must understand the audience as more selectively and interactively engaging with a wider range of media. The logic of communications has been radically changed – the focus on the media has been replaced by a concentration on the audience which is increasingly autonomous and deliberative in its consumption of media.
That is why this year's message invites all those who engage with the new media to be attentive to the content they are generating, sharing or drawing to the attention of others. It is inviting them to avoid the creation or distribution of words or images that are abusive or lacking in respect for the dignity or worth of other people. We are all aware of the risks of new forms of cyber-bullying and abusive postings that have emerged in recent years. It is also important that users of the new media are prudent in terms of words or images they distribute concerning themselves – material posted electronically is not easily removed and no one wants to live with a permanent reminder of youthful excesses or ill-advised utterances.
The message is attentive to the reality that the new means of digital communication can be much more invasive and demanding than the traditional means. The message points out the irony of the situation, if the sense of obligation to maintain virtual connectedness were to isolate people from more immediate forms of social interaction with family, friends and colleagues. It also recognizes that the pervasive nature of modern communications practices could be disruptive of the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for our well-being.
Building on the biblical concept of all people being created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore being pre-disposed for relationship with others, the message concentrates on the theme of friendship as a point of contact between all people of good will. It celebrates the capacity of the new technologies to foster and support good and healthy relationships and various forms of solidarity. It appeals to friendship as a motive to ensure that the new digital world is truly accessible to all. It finds in friendship a shared reference point with all of humanity that grounds the appeal of the message to promote a culture where there is respect for all and where all are invited to search for truth in dialogue.
In presenting the Pope's message this year, the Pontifical Council is also conscious of the practical implications of the new culture of communications it seeks to understand and relate to as part of its mandate. For this reason, we are also launching the message electronically. The text of the message is being sent to thousands of young Catholics throughout the world and they are being invited to share it with their friends, especially with those friends with whom they are digitally networked. I would like to thank the various Communications Departments and Youth Ministry Departments of the Episcopal Conferences who are working with us on this project.
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