VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2011 (Zenit.org).- In his message for today’s World Communications Day, Benedict XVI links digital communication with self-image and coherence.
This commentary was provided by the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Celli, when he presented the papal message at a press conference today.
Three other officials from the council joined Archbishop Celli in presenting the message, delivered on today’s feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of communicators.
According to the archbishop, the papal message, titled “Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age,” links “three important human aspects of today’s life: digital communication, image of oneself and coherence of life.”
“The communicative dynamics in the digital world trigger new ways of building one’s identity, and it is here that the Pope’s call comes for coherence, for authenticity,” he explained.
Digital proclamation
According to the archbishop, the Pontiff stressed “our profound personal responsibility, both in the building of our ‘I’ as well as in encounters with others.”
Archbishop Celli cited the Holy Father when he said: “[A] person is always involved in what he or she communicates. When people exchange information, they are already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals.”
The prelate also noted the message’s reference to a Christian style of Internet presence. “This,” he said, “is what gives meaning to the title […] in the sense that the witness of Catholic users cannot be exhausted in the simple treatment of religious topics, but is called to manifest itself on the plane of concrete personal witness. Coherence of life with the Gospel is itself a form of proclamation; an explicit communication which makes the proclamation credible.”
“More than ever,” Archbishop Celli concluded, “the need to make the Gospel known in its integrity must be manifested as a distinct ‘sign’ of the digital era.”
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Papal message: www.zenit.org/article-31552?l=english
