Pope Benedict's Message for 44th World Day of Communications

(23 Jan 10 - RV) Below is Pope Benedict's full message for the 44th World Day of Communications:

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 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.