AN ANCIENT FAITH
IN A MODERN WORLD
And why media matters
The New Evangelization
There’s this interesting juxtaposition of the Church, an institution whose foundation, pillars, and core have not changed for two thousand years, pitted against emerging media—a fast paced, mobilizing force that thousands now seem to idolize.
Pope Benedict wrote of a paradox in Introduction to Christianity that by Christ taking on flesh and becoming Man, He rooted Himself in time to save us, but by doing so, He also gave Himself an expiration date. Christianity is now considered by many to be out dated, something our constantly evolving and forward looking world does not want. It’s arguable that in today's culture many would claim they need their smartphones more than they need their God, and that they seek answers from a cold, palm sized machine rather than an infinite deity.
So when we are left wondering where the 80% of millennials go when they lose their faith by the age of 23, and when we are looking at the stark reality of our empty pews, at least we have our answer as to where our wandering sheep have gone: online. That's where we are going to encounter them.
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As Pope John Paull II wrote in Redemptoris Missio, “I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization. What is meant by a ‘new evangelization?’ The mission and message of the Church never changes, but the world in which she proclaims it does. Therefore, the actual task of carrying out the mission to evangelize must be ‘new in its ardor, new in its methods, new in its expressions.”
This is precisely where I like to work: at the intersection of emerging media and the Catholic Church.
It is not technology which determines whether or not communication is authentic, but rather the human heart and our capacity to use wisely the means at our disposal.
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Pope Francis's comments to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, January 2016
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