Last week’s article spoke about the Roman Catholic church coming to terms with today’s technology and going digital. This week I will explain a little more of what this entails.
The vision of the Antilles Episcopal Conference’s Integrated Pastoral Communications Plan (IPCP) would cultivate quality collaboration, communion and communication within and among the (Arch) Dioceses of the region to promote a dynamic Catholic social communications media presence within the Caribbean.
According to the Pastoral Letter, the desired outcomes of such a move is to proactively use the expanding social communications media to create a robust, prophetic Catholic church presence and to address the emerging pastoral needs within the church and society.
It is also meant to inspire and stimulate a new mature spirit of living faith garnering support of diverse means of social media, while integrating such media education into all ministry formation programmes (eg, catechesis, new evangelisation, liturgy, social justice) inclusive of Permanent Deacons and Seminary Formation programmes.
The IPCP would be expected to establish the Catholic Church’s Communications Network of creative thinkers or ‘imagineers’ to keep abreast of the rapidly evolving social communications media research and developments connecting diverse people in our Caribbean culture.
Such moves would encourage support and reward diocesan ministers to pioneer new methodologies by collaborating within the diocese to support a fresh perspective for the IPCP in financial, technical and personnel support, and at the same time ensuring that a comprehensive demonstration of collaboration, communion and communication is woven into the life and fabric of the mission and vision of the AEC and each member diocese.
The question might be asked: why is the IPCP for the AEC (Arch)Dioceses important for the future of the Catholic church and Catholic communications in this region? The answer is quite simple. First of all if the church is to be relevant in today’s world, it must maintain an active, listening presence in relation to the world.
Further, the church must communicate its message in a manner suited to each age and to the cultures of particular nations and peoples. So today it must communicate in and to the emerging media culture.
There are four key steps for navigating toward an effective IPCP and each step involves collaborative dialogue, discernment and action for paving the way for proper utilisation of the steps. They are research; design; implementation and evaluation.
There is of course the realisation that the church is immersed in a new communications milieu. This milieu has vast implications for how people are being formed, informed and transformed in the present day. This same milieu is affecting not only how the church communicates faith today, but how we are to be church in the 21st century.
Pope Francis wrote, “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. Social networks can facilitate relationships and promote the good of society, but can also lead to further polarisation between individuals and groups. The choice is ours to make.”
He articulated our vision well. The Pope said, “Let us boldly become citizens of the digital world. The church needs to be concerned for, and present in, the world of communication in order to dialogue with people today and to help them encounter Christ.
“She needed to be a church at the side of others, capable of accompanying everyone along the way. The revolution taking place in communications media and in information technologies represent a great and thrilling challenge, may we respond to that challenge with fresh energy and imagination as we seek to share with others the beauty of God.”
Vernon Khelawan is a columnist for Catholic Media Services Limited (Camsel), the official communication arm of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain. Its offices are located at 31 Independence Square. Telephone 623-7620.