Bishops, The "TODAY" Show, and Catholic social media

If you didn't catch the TODAY show either of the last two mornings, they broadcasted live from St. Peter's square in Vatican City. Host Matt Lauer had never visited the Vatican before, so New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan offered to accompany him on a special trip.

After sharing an audience with the Pope, the two discussed the current state of the Catholic Church in America. If you want to understand why I'm so excited that Archbishop Dolan is the new face of American Catholicism, watch this great interview:

TODAY show reporter Anne Thompson also featured a story on how the Church is engaging social media. (But I mean it's not like anyone is interested in that topic or anything.....):

I was thrilled to see so many connections in the feature to my upcoming book, The Church and New Media. In the book, we devote a sidebar to Busted Halo ministries, we highlight numerous tech-savvy bishops, blogger Rocco Palmo and the Vatican Blogging Conference are mentioned, and we examine Anne's last proposal that the Church is "sharing the same message through new means" (for the record, in line with Marshal McLuhan, I don't think that's possible--order the book to see why!)

The man interviewed at the end of the video, Monsignor Paul Tighe, was the one who gave me the ticket that got me to the Vatican's roof. He's a gracious, wise priest with an enviable Irish brogue and a sharp understanding of media. I constantly refer to him as "the Vatican's new media guy" as he understands these tools better than almost anyone else in the Vatican.

Here's a picture of the two of us from the recent blogging conference:

I love Monsignor Tighe's quote in the video above where he describes the Church's approach to new media: "We're not just interested in talking to people, we also want to listen." If the Church wants to use new media effectively, this must be her orientation.

Listening breeds relationship, and relationship yields an encounter with Christ. And that's the Church's mission in every age.

Posted on: June 3, 2011 in Blog, My Book, New Media, Pope Benedict XVI, Videos
Tagged:

msgrs

Do you agree with McLuhan that the Medium is the Message?
msgrs

or do you think that the medium and the message help to transform each other? Can't wait to see the book.
Brandon Vogt

msgrs: I think I lean more toward your latter proposal than your first. McLuhan was known to hyperbolize, which I think he did with his famous statement, "the medium is the message.

I don't necessarily think the whole message is determined by the medium, but I think it does influence the message enormously--way more than most people think.

This is why reading a homily transcript on a blog, listening to it on radio, viewing it through YouTube, or seeing it in person are vastly different experiences.

Each medium conditions how the message is received, meaning we can't "share the same message using new technologies."
Hugh Macken

Brandon - Excellent Post. And so encouraging. I agree with your rendering of McLuhan's oft-quoted rule that the media is the message and specifically the emphasis you have rightly noted on the importance of listening in the social media space. It is so encouraging to see that Monsignor Tighe "gets" that idea too. I've always believed with social media content is king (people love to say that, don't they!). But listening is queen! I'll be featuring this post in our discussion group on linkedin for the Association of Catholics Exploring Social Media. And please know we be honored to have you on our Board of Advisors.
Brandon Vogt

Hugh: Thanks for the kind words. Tell me more about the Association of Catholics Exploring Social Media. It sounds very intriguing. Thanks!
msgrs

Brandon

Excellent thoughts. I always have to remind myself that McLuhan mused some of these thoughts when the television medium was rather primitive, compared to what exists today. His words that any coffee shop in the vast prairie, with a TV is as cosmopolitan as 5th Avenue make one think.

Through history we have known that "singing is praying twice," or that only a small percentage of a sermon or lecture is normally taken in. It is so important, as you are well aware, to remain engaged with these fastly developing forms, in order to spread the Gospel and the Church in ever more ways.

Hugh: I am glad that even sterile linkedin is being transformed by the Catholic message.

PS:BV any chance of bringing your wife to see us in Rome any time soon?
Brandon Vogt

msgrs: I wish there was another Rome trip in the future, but I don't forsee one soon.
msgrs

Whenever we are at Mass, we are mystically united across time and space. Close your eyes and you are in Rome. I close my eyes and I am at Mass in Florida, and with family in Illinois, and everywhere Mass is being offered. Or, rather, we are united with faithful believers of all time and of all places at Holy Mass, present at the one sacrifice of the Lamb, taking our place, removed as we are on this earth, at the Heavenly Banquet.

Wonder what McLuhan would say about THAT medium?
Brandon Vogt

msgrs: Beautiful reflection. I'm sure McLuhan would agree--he did, after all, convert to Catholicism late in his life. So I assume he experience The Ultimate Medium each week at Mass, which is the Eucharist. The Eucharist--and therefore Jesus--is both the medium and the message of God.

PS: I saw your picture in an article describing how the Sheen file was delivered to Pope Benedict. What's the next step and how long do you suppose it will take until we hear anything?
msgrs

As regards Causes for Beatification, it is always best, I have learned, to speak about what has been accomplished, rather than a timetable about what will come next.

Having said that, the general procedure would indicate that the Positio would be distributed to those responsible, who will be scheduled to meet after studying both the Positio, which is a summary of the 6500 page acts of the Cause, as well as the acts of Cause itself.

Since there are something like 400 active causes, I am not sure when this meeting will take place. So, I will give my standard answer: we should know more in two to fifty years, or perhaps now we can say two to fifty months...

Msgr. Soseman
Brandon Vogt

msgrs: lol Two-to-fifty years is a good estimate. And 6,500 pages? I love Sheen and I'm a bibliophile, but that would intimidate even me!
http://profile.yahoo.com/RCIOXWTCCXI3LBSDW3ITOSEF7M C

Great post!

Just one suggestion: With YouTube's "Related Videos" being so unpredictable and many times quite unrelated and immoral, you may want to take a look at this link containing info on how to remove unwanted links to "related" videos:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/youtube/thread?tid=0a4bcc496e26d04f&hl=en