March 16-22, 2008 Issue |
Posted 3/11/08 at 12:11 PM
The Holy Spirit had the Internet in mind at the Second
Vatican Council. Undoubtedly he did, because, being God, he was not limited by
time and space and in no position to be surprised. But, looking at the way the
role of the laity was redefined, he certainly did.
Today’s dizzying array of new technologies means that
laypeople are needed more than ever to bring the Church’s message into the
world.
New technologies give anyone and everyone with a computer
and a small investment the means to bring a message to the whole world. That
means that wicked people will try to bring degrading messages to your family.
But it also means that tech-savvy Catholics can bring rich
messages to your family.
Our series on online social networking is a perfect example.
In two entries in the series, we warned you about problems families face on
sites like MySpace and even Facebook.
But today, we bring you examples of new opportunities your
family has because of the same technology.
Justin Stroh is director of family faith formation at Divine
Mercy Catholic Church in Faribault, Minn., He is able to build an audience for
his youth retreats and activities for kids in sixth through 12th grade in part
through Facebook communities.
Stephanie Wood interacts with hundreds of youth worldwide as
the host of a radio show for young adults on EWTN, and through NextWave
Faithful, an online community for youth and young adults, as well as
4Marks.com.
Jeremy Stanbary has found Facebook and YouTube helpful in
promoting his Catholic theater-arts organization, Epiphany Studio Productions.
The Dreadnoughters’ Facebook group evangelizes about
Catholic teaching on human sexuality to homosexuals who want to be faithful to
the Church.
Other innovative uses of technology abound, as Zenit recently
catalogued.
Chris Wyatt started GodTube.com, a Christian alternative to
websites offering video clips and assorted information. The site’s motto is
“Broadcast Him,” referring to Jesus, a play on YouTube’s motto “Broadcast
Yourself.”
The Vatican itself is practicing what Pope Benedict XVI has
been preaching in this regard.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is also making good use of
the latest technology, with a dedicated website offering podcasts and video
broadcasts on a wide variety of topics.
The main Vatican Web page is one of the most visited in the
world, but perhaps fewer are familiar with the material available from a number
of the Vatican congregations that have developed their own websites.
The site of the Congregation for the Clergy links a wide range of documents. The material
includes collections of speeches and texts related to the role of priests,
helpful aids for the preparation of homilies, and statistics on the numbers of
seminarians and clergy.
The page also allows the content of each book of the Bible
to be viewed along with cross references to homilies of the Fathers and doctors
of the Church, as well as the magisterium, thus enriching for users the experience
of reading sacred Scripture.
The Pontifical Council for Life and the Pontifical Council
for Health and Pastoral Care also have their own websites, with specialized
documentation, reports on their activities and congresses and links to further
information.
The website of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
contains a wide variety of documents and speeches given by the council’s
officials, along with the texts of some of the presentations given at the
numerous meetings organized by the council on topical matters.
The Vatican City State also has its own dedicated page, with
all sorts of material related to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums,
along with useful information on Vatican offices, such as those selling stamps
and coins.
Vatican Radio is no longer confined to the realm of
short-wave transmissions, making available on its website a broad range of
audio material ready to be downloaded by those interested in accessing the
content via Internet.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has podcasts with
the daily Mass readings on its website, as well as sections devoted to the
saint of the day and a suggested daily prayer. A special Lenten resources
section has an abundance of prayers, including texts for praying the Stations
of the Cross, in both print and audio formats.
Within the United States, many dioceses offer abundant
material. In a large number of cases, the greater part of the content of the
local Catholic weekly newspapers is available via the Internet, including
weekly column written by the local bishop. Increasingly the sites also have
pages with audio and video content.
The Archdiocese of Boston has a link to the local Catholic
TV, where video clips are available. Cardinal Sean O’Malley is also well-known
by many for having his own blog, where his daily activities are chronicled. The
Denver diocesan site not only offers the weekly newspaper columns of Archishop
Charles Chaput, but also an audio recording of his Sunday homilies at the
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, along with a variety of audio files of
media interviews done in the past couple of years.
“Humanity today is at
a crossroads,” says Pope Benedict in this year’s World Communications Day
message. And so is the media, “which offers new possibilities for good, but at
the same time opens up appalling possibilities for evil that formerly did not
exist. “
With more Catholics becoming aware of the evil and boosting
the good, the world stands a better chance of taking the right path.
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