Message of His Holiness
Pope Benedict XVI For The
44th World Communications Day
Theme: "The priest
and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service
of the Word."
Sunday,
May 16, 2010
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The theme of this year's World Communications Day - The Priest
and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service
of the Word - is meant to coincide with the Church's celebration
of the Year for Priests. It focuses attention on the important
and sensitive pastoral area of digital communications, in which
priests can discover new possibilities for carrying out their
ministry to and for the Word of God. Church communities have
always used the modern media for fostering communication, engagement
with society, and, increasingly, for encouraging dialogue at
a wider level. Yet the recent, explosive growth and greater
social impact of these media make them all the more important
for a fruitful priestly ministry.
All priests have as their primary duty the proclamation of Jesus
Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and the communication of
his saving grace in the sacraments. Gathered and called by the
Word, the Church is the sign and instrument of the communion
that God creates with all people, and every priest is called
to build up this communion, in Christ and with Christ. Such
is the lofty dignity and beauty of the mission of the priest,
which responds in a special way
to the challenge raised by the Apostle Paul: "The Scripture
says, 'No one who believes in him will be put to shame ... everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' But how can
they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can
they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can
they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach
unless they are sent? (Rom 10:11, 13-15).
Responding adequately to this challenge amid today's cultural
shifts, to which young people are especially sensitive, necessarily
involves using new communications technologies. The world of
digital communication, with its almost limitless expressive
capacity, makes us appreciate all the more Saint Paul's exclamation:
"Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1 Cor 9:16)
The increased availability of the new technologies demands greater
responsibility on the part of those called to proclaim the Word,
but it also requires them to become more focused, efficient
and compelling in their efforts. Priests stand at the threshold
of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship
across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally
by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of
the Word.
The spread of multimedia communications and its rich "menu
of options" might make us think it sufficient simply to
be present on the Web, or to see it only as a space to be filled.
Yet priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world
of digital communications as faithful witnesses to the Gospel,
exercising their proper role as leaders of communities which
increasingly express themselves with the different "voices"
provided by the digital marketplace. Priests are thus challenged
to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of
audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs,
websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad
new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.
Using new communication technologies, priests can introduce
people to the life of the Church and help our contemporaries
to discover the face of Christ. They will best achieve this
aim if they learn, from the time of their formation, how to
use these technologies in a competent and appropriate way, shaped
by sound theological insights and reflecting a strong priestly
spirituality grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord. Yet
priests present in the world of digital communications should
be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly
heart, their closeness to Christ. This will not only enliven
their pastoral outreach, but also will give a "soul"
to the fabric of communications that makes up the "Web".
God's loving care for all people in Christ must be expressed
in the digital world not simply as an artifact from the past,
or a learned theory, but as something concrete, present and
engaging. Our pastoral presence in that world must thus serve
to show our contemporaries, especially the many people in our
day who experience uncertainty and confusion, "that God
is near; that in Christ we all belong to one another" (Benedict
XVI, Address to the Roman Curia, 21 December 2009).
Who better than a priest, as a man of God, can develop and put
into practice, by his competence in current digital technology,
a pastoral outreach capable of making God concretely present
in today's world and presenting the religious wisdom of the
past as a treasure which can inspire our efforts to live in
the present with dignity while building a better future? Consecrated
men and women working in the media have a special responsibility
for opening the door to new forms of encounter, maintaining
the quality of human interaction, and showing concern for individuals
and their genuine spiritual needs. They can thus help the men
and women of our digital age to sense the Lord's presence, to
grow in expectation and hope, and to draw near to the Word of
God which offers salvation and fosters an integral human development.
In this way the Word can traverse the many crossroads created
by the intersection of all the different "highways"
that form "cyberspace", and show that God has his
rightful place in every age, including our own. Thanks to the
new communications media, the Lord can walk the streets of our
cities and, stopping before the threshold of our homes and our
hearts, say once more: "Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter
his house and dine with him, and he with me" (Rev 3:20).
In my Message last year, I encouraged leaders in the world of
communications to promote a culture of respect for the dignity
and value of the human person. This is one of the ways in which
the Church is called to exercise a "diaconia of culture"
on today's "digital continent". With the Gospels in
our hands and in our hearts, we must reaffirm the need to continue
preparing ways that lead to the Word of God, while being at
the same time constantly attentive to those who continue to
seek; indeed, we should encourage their seeking as a first step
of evangelization. A pastoral presence in the world of digital
communications, precisely because it brings us into contact
with the followers of other religions, non-believers and people
of every culture, requires sensitivity to those who do not believe,
the disheartened and those who have a deep, unarticulated desire
for enduring truth and the absolute. Just as the prophet Isaiah
envisioned a house of prayer for all peoples (cf. Is 56:7),
can we not see the web as also offering a space - like the "Court
of the Gentiles" of the Temple of Jerusalem - for those
who have not yet come to know God?
The development of the new technologies and the larger digital
world represents a great resource for humanity as a whole and
for every individual, and it can act as a stimulus to encounter
and dialogue. But this development likewise represents a great
opportunity for believers. No door can or should be closed to
those who, in the name of the risen Christ, are committed to
drawing near to others. To priests in particular the new media
offer ever new and far-reaching pastoral possibilities, encouraging
them to embody the universality of the Church's mission, to
build a vast and real fellowship, and to testify in today's
world to the new life which comes from hearing the Gospel of
Jesus, the eternal Son who came among us for our salvation.
At the same time, priests must always bear in mind that the
ultimate fruitfulness of their ministry comes from Christ himself,
encountered and listened to in prayer; proclaimed in preaching
and lived witness; and known, loved and celebrated in the sacraments,
especially the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation.
To my dear brother priests, then, I renew the invitation to
make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern
communications. May the Lord make all of you enthusiastic heralds
of the Gospel in the new "agorà" which the
current media are opening up.
With this confidence, I invoke upon you the protection of the
Mother of God and of the Holy Curè of Ars and, with affection,
I impart to each of you my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 24 January 2010, Feast of Saint Francis de
Sales.
Pope Benedict XVI
