Vatican
City, 24 January 2013
(VIS) – "Social Networks: Portals of Truth and Faith; New
Spaces for Evangelisation" is the title chosen by the Pope for
his message for the World Communications Day this year. The message
is dated from the Vatican, 24 January, the feast of St. Francis de
Sales, patron of writers and journalists. Following is the full text
of the message.
"As
the 2013 World Communications Day draws near, I would like to offer
you some reflections on an increasingly important reality regarding
the way in which people today communicate among themselves. I wish to
consider the development of digital social networks which are helping
to create a new 'agora', an open public square in which people share
ideas, information, and opinions, and in which new relationships and
forms of community can come into being.
These
spaces, when engaged in a wise and balanced way, help to foster forms
of dialogue and debate that, if conducted respectfully and with
concern for privacy, responsibility, and truthfulness, can reinforce
the bonds of unity between individuals and effectively promote the
harmony of the human family. The exchange of information can become
true communication, links ripen into friendships, and connections
facilitate communion. If the networks are called to realize this
great potential, the people involved in them must make an effort to
be authentic since, in these spaces, it is not only ideas and
information that are shared, but ultimately our very selves.
The
development of social networks calls for commitment: people are
engaged in building relationships and making friends, in looking for
answers to their questions and being entertained, but also in finding
intellectual stimulation and sharing knowledge and know-how. The
networks are increasingly becoming part of the very fabric of
society, inasmuch as they bring people together on the basis of these
fundamental needs. Social networks are thus nourished by aspirations
rooted in the human heart.
The
culture of social networks and the changes in the means and styles of
communication pose demanding challenges to those who want to speak
about truth and values. Often, as is also the case with other means
of social communication, the significance and effectiveness of the
various forms of expression appear to be determined more by their
popularity than by their intrinsic importance and value. Popularity,
for its part, is often linked to celebrity or to strategies of
persuasion rather than to the logic of argumentation. At times the
gentle voice of reason can be overwhelmed by the din of excessive
information and it fails to attract attention, which is given instead
to those who express themselves in a more persuasive manner. The
social media thus need the commitment of all who are conscious of the
value of dialogue, reasoned debate and logical argumentation; of
people who strive to cultivate forms of discourse and expression that
appeal to the noblest aspirations of those engaged in the
communication process. Dialogue and debate can also flourish and grow
when we converse with and take seriously people whose ideas are
different from our own. 'Given the reality of cultural diversity,
people need not only to accept the existence of the culture of
others, but also to aspire to be enriched by it and to offer to it
whatever they possess that is good, true and beautiful'.
The
challenge facing social networks is how to be truly inclusive: thus
they will benefit from the full participation of believers who desire
to share the message of Jesus and the values of human dignity which
His teaching promotes. Believers are increasingly aware that, unless
the Good News is made known also in the digital world, it may be
absent in the experience of many people for whom this existential
space is important. The digital environment is not a parallel or
purely virtual world, but is part of the daily experience of many
people, especially the young. Social networks are the result of human
interaction, but for their part they also reshape the dynamics of
communication which builds relationships: a considered understanding
of this environment is therefore the prerequisite for a significant
presence there.
The
ability to employ the new languages is required, not just to keep up
with the times, but precisely in order to enable the infinite
richness of the Gospel to find forms of expression capable of
reaching the minds and hearts of all. In the digital environment the
written word is often accompanied by images and sounds. Effective
communication, as in the parables of Jesus, must involve the
imagination and the affectivity of those we wish to invite to an
encounter with the mystery of God’s love. Besides, we know that
Christian tradition has always been rich in signs and symbols: I
think for example of the Cross, icons, images of the Virgin Mary,
Christmas cribs, stained-glass windows and pictures in our churches.
A significant part of mankind’s artistic heritage has been created
by artists and musicians who sought to express the truths of the
faith.
In
social networks, believers show their authenticity by sharing the
profound source of their hope and joy: faith in the merciful and
loving God revealed in Christ Jesus. This sharing consists not only
in the explicit expression of their faith, but also in their witness,
in the way in which they communicate 'choices, preferences and
judgements that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is
not spoken of specifically'. A particularly significant way of
offering such witness will be through a willingness to give oneself
to others by patiently and respectfully engaging their questions and
their doubts as they advance in their search for the truth and the
meaning of human existence. The growing dialogue in social networks
about faith and belief confirms the importance and relevance of
religion in public debate and in the life of society.
For
those who have accepted the gift of faith with an open heart, the
most radical response to mankind’s questions about love, truth and
the meaning of life – questions certainly not absent from social
networks – are found in the person of Jesus Christ. It is natural
for those who have faith to desire to share it, respectfully and
tactfully, with those they meet in the digital forum. Ultimately,
however, if our efforts to share the Gospel bring forth good fruit,
it is always because of the power of the word of God itself to touch
hearts, prior to any of our own efforts. Trust in the power of God’s
work must always be greater than any confidence we place in human
means. In the digital environment, too, where it is easy for heated
and divisive voices to be raised and where sensationalism can at
times prevail, we are called to attentive discernment. Let us recall
in this regard that Elijah recognized the voice of God not in the
great and strong wind, not in the earthquake or the fire, but in 'a
still, small voice'. We need to trust in the fact that the basic
human desire to love and to be loved, and to find meaning and truth –
a desire which God himself has placed in the heart of every man and
woman – keeps our contemporaries ever open to what Blessed Cardinal
Newman called the 'kindly light' of faith.
Social
networks, as well as being a means of evangelisation, can also be a
factor in human development. As an example, in some geographical and
cultural contexts where Christians feel isolated, social networks can
reinforce their sense of real unity with the worldwide community of
believers. The networks facilitate the sharing of spiritual and
liturgical resources, helping people to pray with a greater sense of
closeness to those who share the same faith. An authentic and
interactive engagement with the questions and the doubts of those who
are distant from the faith should make us feel the need to nourish,
by prayer and reflection, our faith in the presence of God as well as
our practical charity: 'If I speak in the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal'.
In
the digital world there are social networks which offer our
contemporaries opportunities for prayer, meditation and sharing the
word of God. But these networks can also open the door to other
dimensions of faith. Many people are actually discovering, precisely
thanks to a contact initially made online, the importance of direct
encounters, experiences of community and even pilgrimage, elements
which are always important in the journey of faith. In our effort to
make the Gospel present in the digital world, we can invite people to
come together for prayer or liturgical celebrations in specific
places such as churches and chapels. There should be no lack of
coherence or unity in the expression of our faith and witness to the
Gospel in whatever reality we are called to live, whether physical or
digital. When we are present to others, in any way at all, we are
called to make known the love of God to the furthest ends of the
earth.
I
pray that God’s Spirit will accompany you and enlighten you always,
and I cordially impart my blessing to all of you, that you may be
true heralds and witnesses of the Gospel. 'Go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to the whole creation'."
