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.