Our Christian Duty
We live in the communications age.
The age of answers. Instantaneous information.
Connection across time zones, cultures, and barriers.
The ability to learn and know what’s going on means help can arrive faster, decisions can be better informed, and authentic relationships strengthened.
It can also mean that conflict can arrive faster, decisions can be reactionary and hastily made, and relationships hollowed or obliterated.
Our responsibility as followers of Christ in the age of instant gratification, where sin is on every screen in real time, is “to bring the witness of [our] faith to the digital world” (Pope Benedict XVI, 43rd World Communications Day).
The Catholic Church has not shunned new communication technologies but rather encouraged their potential to further the Gospel.
The Popes of the last 125 years, especially, have adamantly called us to action.
So don’t give up. Don’t run. But wait… there’s more.
Early 20th Century
How did the Church greet the rapid invention and explosion of technology in the last 150 years?
“From the drawings and inscriptions of the most ancient times down to the latest technical devices, all instruments of human communication inevitably have as their aim the lofty purpose of revealing men as in some way the assistants of God” (Pope Pius XII, Miranda Prorsus).
“The Church sees these media as ‘gifts of God’ which, in accordance with his providential design, unite men in brotherhood and so help them to cooperate with his plan for their salvation” (Pope Pius XII, Miranda Prorsus).
Ergo—websites, emails, social media, texting, forums, podcasts, AI, etc.—these are gifts!
“The principle moral responsibility for the proper use… of social communication falls on newsmen, writers, actors, designers, producers, displayers, distributors, operators and sellers… [W]hat gravely important responsibilities they have… to lead the human race to good or to evil by informing or arousing mankind” (Pope St. Paul VI, Inter Mirifica, 11).
Nowadays, this includes podcasters, bloggers, influencers, celebrities, and all content creators.
“All the children of the Church should join, without delay and with the greatest effort in a common work to make effective use of the media of social communication… They should anticipate harmful developments, especially in regions where more urgent efforts to advance morality and religion are needed” (Pope St. Paul VI, Inter Mirifica, 13).
Did you catch that? “Anticipate harmful developments.”
We know the state of our culture in America, its pros and cons. We have a responsibility to promote the truth, including warning where faithlessness leads.
The “first proclamation, catechesis or the further deepening of faith cannot do without [mass media and social communications].” (Pope St. Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 45).
Wow! We cannot evangelize effectively without media. Without technology. Without communications. That includes your social media presence, campaigns, and digital content.
We can’t stop at reach and likes, though. The “evangelical message” needs “the capacity of piercing the conscience of each individual, of implanting itself in his heart as though he were the only person being addressed… and evoke an entirely personal commitment” (Pope St. Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 45).
Pope St. John Paul II
Think of the noise on the internet. Billions of images, sounds, and words. St. John Paul II showed us how to command the inventions of man for the glory of God.
“It is vitally important to ensure that among these many messages the word of God is heard… What is therefore needed in our time is an active and imaginative engagement of the media by the Church. Catholics should not be afraid to throw open the doors of social communications to Christ” (Pope St. John Paul II, 35th World Communications Day).
“An active and imaginative engagement!” Does that sound like boring graphics, ignoring trends, outdated design, or talking past those you want to reach?
The Holy Father adjures us, “Christian communicators have ‘a prophetic task, a vocation: to speak out against the false gods and idols of the day – materialism, hedonism, consumerism, narrow nationalism.’”
He goes on, “May Catholics involved in the world of social communications preach the truth of Jesus ever more boldly and joyfully from the housetops” (Pope St. John Paul II, 35th World Communications Day).
Relationship is dialogue. That means having the courage to listen and speak.
The internet is simply a tool for the Church to begin a relationship and progress it to real-world invitation and cultivation.
The 2002 release of The Church and Internet from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, quoting St. John Paul II, calls us to pull the world out of “the pride-driven project of Babel and the collapse into confusion… to Pentecost and the gift of tongues: a restoration of communication.”
As the document goes on to say, “people at all levels of the Church [must] use the Internet creatively to meet their responsibilities and help fulfill the Church’s mission. Hanging back timidly from fear… is not acceptable.”
“No institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples” (Redemptoris Missio, 3).
The Church’s words. Not mine.
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI didn’t let up! He clarified that the new evangelization is not new in content but in methods and must correspond to the times.
“Effective communication… must involve the imagination” (Pope Benedict XVI, 47th World Communications Day).
This means, beyond any doubt, that any Catholic social feed, website, email, event, strategy, or campaign—any interaction with the world through the internet—must be characterized by excellence!
“To inform the consciences of individuals and help shape their thinking is never a neutral task. Authentic communication demands principled courage and resolve” (Pope Benedict XVI, 40th World Communications Day).
We cannot be afraid of the world’s seeming success, the negative comments, or the scrutiny. We have the Truth! We must prudently, boldly, and effectively proclaim it using the tools we know, with a clear vision of the audience’s personalities, likes, dislikes, experiences, idiosyncrasies, hopes, and fears.
“In social networks, believers show their authenticity by sharing the profound source of their hope and joy: faith in the merciful and loving God revealed in Christ Jesus” (Pope Benedict XVI, 47th World Communications Day).
Pope Francis
“Catholic communicators avoid rigidities that stifle or imprison… They do not cage the Holy Spirit, but seek to let it fly, to let it breathe within the soul” (Speaking to Management and Staff of “Avvenire”).
“Social networks can facilitate relationships and promote the good of society, but they can also lead to further polarization and division between individuals and groups. The digital world is a public square, a meeting-place where we can either encourage or demean one another, engage in a meaningful discussion or unfair attacks” (Pope Francis, 50th World Communications Day).
“If the Church community coordinates its activity through the network, and then celebrates the Eucharist together, then it is a resource. If the Net becomes an opportunity to share stories and experiences of beauty or suffering that are physically distant from us, in order to pray together and together seek out the good or rediscover what unites us, then it is a resource” (Pope Francis, 53rd World Communications Day).
Pope Leo XIV
“Today, one of the most important challenges is to promote communication that can bring us out of the ‘Tower of Babel’… [C]ommunication is not only the transmission of information, but it is also the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion. In looking at how technology is developing, this mission becomes ever more necessary. I am thinking in particular of artificial intelligence, with its immense potential, which nevertheless requires responsibility and discernment in order to ensure that it can be used for the good of all” (Pope Leo XIV, Address to Members of the Media).
“Our mission – your mission – is to nurture a culture of Christian humanism, and to do so together. This is the beauty of the ‘network’ for all of us” (Pope Leo XIV, Address to Social Media Influencers).
“Renew your commitment to nourish Christian hope in social networks and online spaces” (Pope Leo XIV, Address to Social Media Influencers).
Where Do We Go from Here?
Despite Pope Leo’s assertion that “the Church has never remained passive,” we’ve seen a plethora of passive approaches to digital footprints. That must change!
And it is changing.
As Catholic nonprofits, businesses, schools, parishes, and dioceses, we must examine our content and approach to the internet, where people spend most of their waking hours.
Is our content compelling? Is it reaching the right person, especially those who are lukewarm and distant, and bringing them closer to God?
Are we up-to-date on the current tools, channels, trends, behaviors, preferences, and more?
Are we using this tool to the best of our ability? Are we drawing on the expertise and creativity of others to help us further the Gospel?
Are we competing with the world?
Are we just making noise that is drowned in the sea of content, or are we untangling the confusion of Babel and planting a new Pentecost in hearts and minds?
We can do it! All things are possible in Him who strengthens us!
Join the conversation! Shoot me an email at mconnors@yellowlinedigital.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
