The Gospel according to Twitter

By Anthony English

Pope Benedict spoke recently about this blog. Well, not about this blog in particular, but about the Gospel in the digital era. It was the Holy Father's Message for the 45th World Communications Day and it was specifically about how the new technologies can promote or inhibit the Gospel.

It was pleasing to see Pope Benedict warning about the superficiality which can easily creep in to the transmission of the faith when we have to fit the message into a technological 2 second grab. Technology, helpful as it can be, can also cause us to water down or dumb down the message of Christ:

The task of witnessing to the Gospel in the digital era calls for everyone to be particularly attentive to the aspects of that message which can challenge some of the ways of thinking typical of the web. First of all, we must be aware that the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its “popularity” or from the amount of attention it receives. We must make it known in its integrity, instead of seeking to make it acceptable or diluting it. It must become daily nourishment and not a fleeting attraction.

There's something about these new media which tempts us to turn into observers and commentators, and for those of us for whom technology is our bread and butter, it's good to have a reminder that there's a world of truth and friendship outside first of all:

The truth of the Gospel is not something to be consumed or used superficially; rather it is a gift that calls for a free response. Even when it is proclaimed in the virtual space of the web, the Gospel demands to be incarnated in the real world and linked to the real faces of our brothers and sisters, those with whom we share our daily lives. Direct human relations always remain fundamental for the transmission of the faith!

Surely one of the great ironies of technology today is that family members in the same home can be "communicating" with the world outside and never speak to each other in any depth. One mother pointed out recently that we used to start the day with morning prayer and breakfast (maybe even together). Now it's replaced by logging in to check our messages.

You can find the pope's whole message for World Communications Day here.


* Photo by jscreationzs/FreeDigital.Photos.net