Canadian Church: Conference on New Evangelization and Catholic Communications
(Vatican Radio) What are the best social media strategies and what is the role of
Church communicators within the context of our pluralistic and highly secularized
society? These are just some of the many topics being discussed at a 3-day national
conference on New Evangelization and Catholic Communications in Montreal sponsored
by the Canadian Catholic Bishops Conference. One of the main organizers of the conference
is Joseph Sinasac, President of the Association of Roman Catholic Communicators of
Canada who spoke to Susy Hodges
Listen to the extended interview with Joseph
Sinasac:
A leading
Catholic journalist and editor in Canada, Sinasac says the Montreal Conference seeks
“to create a dialogue between Catholic Bishops who have been studying the New Evangelization…
and the needs on the ground, particularly for Catholic Communicators.”
Asked
about the greatest challenges facing the Church and Catholic Communicators, Sinasac
says we need “to be cognizant of the strength and weaknesses of the new social media”
and also be aware that “we are one voice among many” in today’s "very pluralistic
and highly secularized world.” He says the Church’s voice is “being increasingly
challenged by other voices that are not necessarily open to respectful dialogue” in
a society where “large segments are actually hostile to organized religion.”
Despite
these daunting challenges, Sinasac says Christians must not lose heart and should
not evangelize “in a defensive way.” “We have to be confident in who we are as Christians,”
he says.