"Internet: A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel"
[Sunday, 12 May 2002]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. The Church in every age continues the work begun on the day of
Pentecost, when the Apostles, in the power of the Holy Spirit, went forth
into the streets of Jerusalem to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many
tongues (cf. Acts 2:5-11). Through the succeeding centuries, this
evangelizing mission spread to the far corners of the earth, as
Christianity took root in many places and learned to speak the diverse
languages of the world, always in obedience to Christ's command to preach
the Gospel to every nation (cf. Mt 28:19-20).
But the history of evangelization is not just a matter of geographic
expansion, for the Church has also had to cross many cultural thresholds,
each of which called for fresh energy and imagination in proclaiming the
one Gospel of Jesus Christ. The age of the great discoveries, the
Renaissance and the invention of printing, the Industrial Revolution and
the birth of the modern world: these too were threshold moments which
demanded new forms of evangelization. Now, with the communications and
information revolution in full swing, the Church stands unmistakably at
another decisive gateway. It is fitting therefore that on this World
Communications Day 2002 we should reflect on the subject: “Internet: A New
Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel".
2. The Internet is certainly a new “forum” understood in the ancient Roman
sense of that public space where politics and business were transacted,
where religious duties were fulfilled where much of the social
life of the city took place, and where the best and the worst of human
nature was on display. It was a crowded and bustling urban space, which
both reflected the surrounding culture and created a culture of its own.
This is no less true of cyberspace, which is as it were a new frontier
opening up at the beginning of this new millennium. Like the new frontiers
of other times, this one too is full of the interplay of danger and
promise, and not without the sense of adventure which marked other great
periods of change. For the Church the new world of cyberspace is a summons
to the great adventure of using its potential to proclaim the Gospel
message. This challenge is at the heart of what it means at the beginning
of the millennium to follow the Lord's command to "put out into the deep”: Duc in altum! (Lk 5:4).
3. The Church approaches this new medium with realism and confidence. Like
other communications media, it is a means, not an end in itself. The
Internet can offer magnificent opportunities for evangelization if used
with competence and a clear awareness of its strengths and weaknesses.
Above all, by providing information and stirring interest it makes possible
an initial encounter with the Christian message, especially among the young
who increasingly turn to the world of cyberspace as a window on the world.
It is important, therefore, that the Christian community think of very
practical ways of helping those who first make contact through the Internet
to move from the virtual world of cyberspace to the real world of Christian
community.
At a subsequent stage, the Internet can also provide the kind of follow-up
which evangelization requires. Especially in an unsupportive culture,
Christian living calls for continuing instruction and catechesis, and this
is perhaps the area in which the Internet can provide excellent help. There
already exist on the Net countless sources of information, documentation
and education about the Church, her history and tradition, her doctrine and
her engagement in every field in all parts of the world. It is clear, then,
that while the Internet can never replace that profound experience of God
which only the living, liturgical and sacramental life of the Church can
offer, it can certainly provide a unique supplement and support in both
preparing for the encounter with Christ in community, and sustaining the
new believer in the journey of faith which then begins.
4. There are nevertheless certain necessary, even obvious, questions which
arise in using the Internet in the cause of evangelization. The essence of
the Internet in fact is that it provides an almost unending flood of
information, much of which passes in a moment. In a culture which feeds on
the ephemeral there can easily be a risk of believing that it is facts that
matter, rather than values. The Internet offers extensive knowledge, but it
does not teach values; and when values are disregarded, our very humanity
is demeaned and man easily loses sight of his transcendent dignity. Despite
its enormous potential for good, some of the degrading and damaging ways in
which the Internet can be used are already obvious to all, and public
authorities surely have a responsibility to guarantee that this marvellous
instrument serves the common good and does not become a source of harm.
Furthermore, the Internet radically redefines a person's psychological
relationship to time and space. Attention is riveted on what is tangible,
useful, instantly available; the stimulus for deeper thought and reflection
may be lacking. Yet human beings have a vital need for time and inner quiet
to ponder and examine life and its mysteries, and to grow gradually into a
mature dominion of themselves and of the world around them. Understanding
and wisdom are the fruit of a contemplative eye upon the world, and do not
come from a mere accumulation of facts, no matter how interesting. They are
the result of an insight which penetrates the deeper meaning of things in
relation to one another and to the whole of reality. Moreover, as a forum
in which practically everything is acceptable and almost nothing is
lasting, the Internet favours a relativistic way of thinking and sometimes
feeds the flight from personal responsibility and commitment.
In such a context, how are we to cultivate that wisdom which comes not just
from information but from insight, the wisdom which understands the
difference between right and wrong, and sustains the scale of values which
flows from that difference?
5. The fact that through the Internet people multiply their contacts in
ways hitherto unthinkable opens up wonderful possibilities for spreading
the Gospel. But it is also true that electronically mediated relationships
can never take the place of the direct human contact required for genuine
evangelization. For evangelization always depends upon the personal witness
of the one sent to evangelize (cf. Rom 10:14-15). How does the
Church lead from the kind of contact made possible by the Internet to the
deeper communication demanded by Christian proclamation? How do we build
upon the first contact and exchange of information which the Internet makes
possible?
There is no doubt that the electronic revolution holds out the promise of
great positive breakthroughs for the developing world; but there is also
the possibility that it will in fact aggravate existing inequalities as the
information and communications gap widens. How can we ensure that the
information and communications revolution which has the Internet as its
prime engine will work in favour of the globalization of human development
and solidarity, objectives closely linked to the Church's evangelizing
mission?
Finally, in these troubled times, let me ask: how can we ensure that this
wondrous instrument first conceived in the context of military operations
can now serve the cause of peace? Can it favour that culture of dialogue,
participation, solidarity and reconciliation without which peace cannot
flourish? The Church believes it can; and to ensure that this is what will
happen she is determined to enter this new forum, armed with the Gospel of
Christ, the Prince of Peace.
6. The Internet causes billions of images to appear on millions of computer
monitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the
face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it is only when
his face is seen and his voice heard that the world will know the glad
tidings of our redemption. This is the purpose of evangelization. And this
is what will make the Internet a genuinely human space, for if there is no
room for Christ, there is no room for man. Therefore, on this World
Communications Day, I dare to summon the whole Church bravely to cross this
new threshold, to put out into the deep of the Net, so that now as in the
past the great engagement of the Gospel and culture may show to the world
"the glory of God on the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). May the Lord
bless all those who work for this aim.
From the Vatican, 24 January 2002, the Feast of Saint Francis de Sales