Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary use the internet.
I’ve been receiving lots of attention recently in our diocese for my seemingly non-stop internet conversations with Catholics and non-Catholics alike on matters of faith. It is something that I have come to dearly love, and something that at times needs to be reigned in so that there is time for interaction with people in person, but the truth is that it has become a regular part of ministry for me. This blog began simply as a place for me to gather my thoughts upon my return from almost two years of being outside of priestly ministry. It has grown to now be an important place for sharing the faith with others and hearing their thoughts and stories. I now also spend time recording podcasts, updating a Facebook profile and conversing with others on what is surprisingly my favorite form of current social media, Twitter.
It makes me happy to know that Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged priests to do all of the above. His direction is not something new in the Church. Inter Mirifica, Vatican II’s Decree on the Means of Social Communication encourages the same.
The Catholic Church was founded by Christ our Lord to bring salvation to all men. It feels obliged, therefore, to preach the gospel. In the same way, it believes that its task involves employing the means of social communications to announce the good news of salvation and to teach men how to use them properly.
It is the Church’s birthright to use and own any of these media which are necessary or useful for the formation of Christians and for pastoral activity. Pastors of souls have the task of instructing and directing the faithful how to use these media in a way that will ensure their own salvation and perfection and that of all mankind.
It is amazing to me that a document that was promulgated in 1963 can speak so clearly to the reality of today. The council fathers were truly ahead of their time and listening closely to the Holy Spirit when they debated the issues of the council and produced these documents as guideposts for the Church.
What I am finding through my interactions with others via these new forms of social communication is that it allows me to interact with many people I would never meet under normal circumstances and begin relationships that sometimes lead to real life interaction. New technology is allowing me to speak to people who may never enter the doors of my Church, but who are important nonetheless in the eyes of God. I am being given the opportunity to share my own faith and to grow through conversations with Christians and non-Christians alike.
There are certainly limits to online interaction, but from where I am standing the potential for building relationships via new technology are endless.
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