Catholics Embrace New Media
What is ‘new media’ you ask? You’re lookin at it! Blogging, podcasting…the world of communication is quickly evolving and Catholics are taking notice. From the National Catholic Register:
First came the online network informally known as St. Blog’s. Then came the invasion of the Catholic podcasters.
Now it’s “vodcasts.”
The latest innovation on the Internet is the rise of Catholic video podcasts, otherwise known as vodcasts. Through YouTube and other media, Catholics have been able to spread the faith, provide historical footage and draw attention to liturgical abuses…
Such resources are utilizing both audio and video to show the richness of the Catholic community, says blogger Rocco Palmo. He has been impressed with how some dioceses are using online video. The Diocese of Salt Lake City, for example, makes liturgies at the cathedral available online.
Even the clergy is getting in on the action:
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Cardinal Justin Rigali became the first Church leader to make regular use of YouTube. Every week of Lent, Cardinal Rigali presented a weekly two- to four-minute video reflection on the Gospels called “Living Lent.”…
To date, Cardinal Rigali has recorded a dozen videos.
“It’s an effort to communicate with the people on some important evangelical points,” Cardinal Rigali said. “We hope to keep it going as long as we can.”
Getting into this medium is particularly important for Catholics because some are using it to bring people (especially the young) away from the Church. Not that long ago an atheist group called on our youth to openly deny the Holy Spirit in its Blasphemy Challenge. Upon hearing this one transitional deacon, Christopher Decker, responded with a video of himself reciting the Apostle’s Creed and inviting others to follow.
Defend the truth with charity and firmness when the things of God are at stake…God wants us, now and always, to spread his seed, a divine sowing in all surroundings (St. Josemaria)
Some of the places mentioned in the article: God Tube and EJVideo (Christian video sites), Word on Fire by Fr. Robert Barron and The Recovering Dissident Catholic, a woman who was influenced by Catholics online and returned to the fullness of the Catholic faith. Other Catholic blogs can be found at St. Blog’s Parish Directory.
I wonder if JPII foresaw this when he called for a new evangelization.