MESSAGE OF
HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE 44th WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY
"The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a
Digital World:
New Media at the Service of the Word"
[Sunday, 16 May 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 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.
BENEDICTUS
XVI
©
Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana