World Communications Day message focuses on social networks
(Vatican Radio) On Sunday, May 12, the Church marks World Communications Day, encouraging
Catholics in countries across the globe to make better use of the media and other
forms of communication to share the good news of the Gospel with all men and women.
This year, the papal message, drawn up and released in January by Benedict XVI, focuses
on the importance of social networking sites as “portals of truth and faith”, and
“new spaces for evangelisation”. In the message, the former pontiff, who opened
the first papal Twitter account at the end of last year, invites people to appreciate
the potential of social media sites and urges believers, in this Year of Faith, to
consider how their presence on these networks can help spread the Gospel message of
God’s love for all people. In January, following the publication of this 47th
World Communications Day message, Philippa Hitchen spoke to Mgr Paul Tighe, secretary
of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Listen:
“Over the
last 4 to 5 years the Pope has been generating a lot of material that is reflecting
on the new media as they emerge……it’s a changing reality…..and I think the Pope is
attentive to that, so this year he’s moving into something that is relatively recent,
the social networks, which have become a distinguishing feature of how communication
happens…. Is this a follow-up to the opening of his Twitter account? I think
this is offering a kind of philosophical or theological justification for why that
wasn’t just a one-off event, but it was a very important statement …..of the significance
he attributes to new media….. The Pope is asking two fundamental questions ….how
can new media contribute to human progress and secondly, what can we Christians do
in that arena to help and support the development of social networks in a positive
manner… People often talk about ‘user generated content’ but I think the Pope is
guiding us to a ‘user generated culture’….we need to ask how can we help to promote
understanding and solidarity….if these are to be social networks, there’s no place
for the anti-social, for harassment or bullying…..it’s not enough to be the one who
shouts the loudest…..respect in engaging with and treating the other person is fundamental.