Pontiff Sends Greeting to Catholic Media Convention Says New Media Has "Extraordinary Potential" for Evangelization

VATICAN CITY, June, 03, 2010, 10:00 Hrs (Zenit.org):

New media have the "extraordinary potential" to bring the message of Christ to more and more people, says Pope Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this at the general audience in St. Peter's Square in which he offered a long-distance greeting to those who are participating in the Catholic Media Convention, under way through Friday in New Orleans.

The theme of the convention, sponsored by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada, has as its theme "Spreading the Good News -- Byte by Byte."

The Pope said the theme "highlights the extraordinary potential of the new media to bring the message of Christ and the teaching of his Church to the attention of a wider public."

He continued: "If your mission is to be truly effective -- if the words you proclaim are to touch hearts, engage people's freedom and change their lives -- you must draw them into an encounter with persons and communities who witness to the grace of Christ by their faith and their lives.

"In this sense, it is my hope that your days together will renew and refresh your shared enthusiasm for the Gospel. Notwithstanding the many challenges you face, never forget the promise of Christ, 'I am with you always, to the close of the age.'"

At the end of the audience, Pope Benedict XVI also invited the faithful to participate in the traditional procession on the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and ends at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The Pope will preside at the Mass that will be followed by the procession. "I invite everyone to take part in this celebration, to express together our faith in Christ, present in the Eucharist," he said.

Finally, the Pontiff asked the faithful to "accompany with your prayer my pastoral journey to Cyprus, which I will undertake day after tomorrow, so that it will be rich in spiritual fruits for the dear Christian communities of the Middle East."