Quote of the Day

“Even a casual observer can easily see that in our time, thanks to the most modern technologies, a true and proper revolution is underway in the field of social communications, of which the Church is becoming ever more responsibly aware. These technologies, in fact, make rapid and pervasive communication possible, with an ample sharing of ideas and opinions. They transmit information and news, making them easily accessible to all....

The great social changes that have occurred in the last 20 years have demanded and continue to demand an attentive analysis of the presence and the action of the Church in this field. The Servant of God John Paul II recalled that: "Involvement in the mass media, however, is not meant merely to strengthen the preaching of the Gospel. There is a deeper reality involved here: since the very evangelization of modern culture depends to a great extent on the influence of the media". And he added, therefore "it is not enough to use the media simply to spread the Christian message and the Church's authentic teaching. It is also necessary to integrate that message into the 'new culture' created by modern communications".... All this constitutes a challenge for the Church called to proclaim the Gospel to men and women of the Third Millennium, maintaining the content unchanged, but rendering it comprehensible also thanks to means and methods that are in keeping with today's mentality and culture....

For believers, the necessary evaluation of the new media technologies must always be sustained by a constant vision of faith, in the knowledge that, beyond the means employed, the effectiveness of the Gospel proclamation depends in the first place on the action of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church and the journey of humanity.”

--Pope Benedict XVI
Address to the Plenary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
Vatican City, 29 October 2009

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For the first time under its new president -- Italian Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli -- the Roman dicastery responsible for interacting with the media world met in its full-fledged form last week. Atop the plenary's agenda was a look toward updating Aetatis Novae, the 1992 pastoral instruction on communication in the life of the church.

Still no sighting of the Pope at a computer, but hope springs eternal.

CNS' Cindy Wooden has a full wrap-up, including an assessment of the blogosphere by one of the PCCS' members, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles.

"I have been appalled by some of the things I've seen," the LA prelate said. "Of course, I've been the object of some of them."

Sad to say, by no means has he been alone in that.

PHOTOS: Reuters(1); Pontifical Council for Social Communications(2)

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