It never ceases to amaze me that among all Church figures, our 83-year old Pope understands the implications of New Media better than almost all others. His unique social insights are once more on display in a message he delivered today.
For the past 45 years, different Popes have used the feast of St. Francis de Sales–falling annually on January 24–to deliver their message for that year’s World Communications Day.
The Pope just released his message for the upcoming 45th World Communications Day, which will be celebrated on June 5 this year, which offers some profound thoughts on the digital world, specifically regarding online authenticity.
You can read the entire message on the Vatican website (its fairly short–less than 1,500 words). Below are some of my favorite passages:
New horizons are now open that were until recently unimaginable; they stir our wonder at the possibilities offered by these new media and, at the same time, urgently demand a serious reflection on the significance of communication in the digital age.
In the search for sharing, for “friends”, there is the challenge to be authentic and faithful, and not give in to the illusion of constructing an artificial public profile for oneself.
It follows that there exists a Christian way of being present in the digital world: this takes the form of a communication which is honest and open, responsible and respectful of others. To proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to witness consistently, in one’s own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preferences and judgments that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of specifically.
I would like then to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible.