Pope stresses on the importance of the language of the digital media

(February 28, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday stressed on the urgency of reflecting on the ‘languages’ developed by today’s new technologies in order to make the Gospel message more relevant to today’s generation. Addressing participants of the plenary assembly of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications, that is meeting in Rome, Feb. 28 – March 3, the Pontiff spoke about the importance of the council’s efforts in trying to understanding the ‘digital culture’ by stimulating and supporting a reflection for greater awareness regarding the challenges facing the ecclesial and civil community. This, the Pope said, does not consist merely in expressing the Gospel message in today’s language, but one needs the courage of examining in a more profound way the relationship between faith, the life of the Church and the changes that man is passing through. The German Pontiff noted that the digital culture challenges our capacity to talk and listen to a symbolic language that speaks of the transcendence, saying Jesus Himself knew how to use the elements of culture and the environment of his times, such when speaking about the flock, the field, the banquet, the seed and so on. Today, the Pope said, we are called to discover, also in the digital culture, the significant symbols and metaphors that can be of help in talking about the Kingdom of God to today’s man. However he noted that a truly human communication is one which appeals to the spiritual values, as man is made in the image and likeness of God. Hence the contribution that a believer can make to the media world, is by opening to it the horizons of meaning and values, which on its own the digital culture is unable to discern and represent.