«The advent of the information society is a real cultural revolution”, this is a statement from the Directory on Social communication in the Mission of the Church. The statement continues saying that “nothing of what today’s man thinks of, says and does is stranger for the media; the media exercise an influence on all that today’s man thinks, says and does”. “The Church needs discernment and renewal to fulfil her task of announcing salvation to this society, to these men”. We agree, but “a simple process of adaptation or the research of updated modalities of communication are not enough to remain faithful to the Gospel. We need to be faithful to the Gospel in this new context. We need to identify credible forms of communication fit for the socio-cultural context in which the Gospel has to be incarnated, without getting dispersed of nullified” (no. 2).The first “credible form”, rather the indispensable context is communication.

Today, the culture is strongly painted by the word “communication” and communication itself is a culture, namely a way of existing, of being in the world; it is an area of life, an existential context. It is the “existential context of children, of kids, of youths, of the families we meet every day, to whom the Church sends us to announce the love and salvation of God.   

We are aware that the media are bearers of a new culture. They are born from the very fact that new ways of communication exist, with new languages, new techniques, and new psychological attitudes. The media offer us formidable resources, if we assume positive visions and optics and if we commit ourselves to understand always more the “born digitals”. In this culture of communication, we must read and live the history of salvation in the logic of God’s love for man. Above all we must “narrate it” with the codices of mass media, such as the TV, the radio, the printing press and the multi-media, inter-activity and Net.    

Communication as relational attitude 

The indispensable context of proclamation is the “care” relation at the origin of the human being. Do we feel, as consecrated, protagonists of a “special mission”? Do we keep the desire of making him known burning in our heart?  Persons who are passionate and know how to communicate in the line of interpersonal relation are able to proclaim. Persons who get immersed into today’s culture with the aim of reading, interpreting it and making it to rise, like an evangelical pinch of yeast in the dough.

If we do not make the proclamation in the relational dimension, it will not reach the other. Nothing would ever help to focalise itself on the consecrated life and the evangelising mission in the mediatic culture, as the re-discovery of the relational and reciprocal dimensions. He who proclaims is image of the “net”, as called to welcome, to show mental openness, desire of confrontation, ability of negotiation. He who proclaims is a promoter. He who proclaims knows how to accept and recognise every single young interlocutor in formation and immersed in the culture of his time. He accompanies this young interlocutor in the act of confronting the culture of the time with the Good News. He who proclaims is available to be close to the youths, to understand them with empathy, to reveal a deep trust in them and in their capacities. He who proclaims educates the youth to take position and to express his opinion. This is the end, the reaching post, towards which the Directory on Social Communications orients us.

The unopposed wave of history and of fashions must wrestle against the Christian culture, which places Jesus, Redeemer of the world, as centre of the cosmos and of history. If Jesus truly is this, no historical conditioning, no cultural or social difference can prevail over His presence. Christ, centre of the cosmos and of history, is the origin of a new vision on reality, even that of the media, which is not against reason, rather it makes reason to rise up from within. This is the Christian culture, whose essential core is contained in the Gospels.

Culture is custom, institutions, above all philosophy, ethics, arts. In other words, culture is humanism. In this sense, the Christian culture contains a vision of the person, of the world and of history in the horizon of revelation, with the happy falling back into the daily experience of this vision, to the end of realising an integral promotion of the person.

This is why “culture” means “cultivation of the person”, particularly of its interior reality. The Christian culture is permeated with the presence of Christ. It demands a deep theological knowledge, but it becomes love and personal communion with Christ in His paschal mystery of death and resurrection. Coherently lived, Christian culture is a vision embracing all the realities –even that of old and new media and of technology in general- with the savoury deriving from our familiarity with Christ and His message.  

How is it practically?

Faith transforms the person in all its personal, family, social dimensions. This is why the Church and her consecrated faithful must give life to a “being Christian” according to forms that change with the flowing of history, but which are rooted into the Gospel message. The commitment to “Christian cultivation of the person” –with particular reference to the first seasons of age evolution and the youths- must have the means to carry on one’s task, unless we want to remain only an abstract and vain affirmation of principle. In fact, “culture” is a complex of human elaborations, such as the productions of TV, radio and mass printing press, in traditional and digital forms.

We must define privileged courses in the parishes and religious communities, such as formation courses for the operators of communication; promoting the community hall and the cultural centres; creating more synergy between media and ordinary pastoral work; involving research and formation centres; giving voice to associationism and favouring the commitment of the laity. 

The communities of consecrated persons are to interrogate themselves about the new call to evangelisation in the mediatic culture, starting from the youth reality. Where do we find the youths today? How do they communicate? Do they project together their presence in the virtual square? We invite the religious communities that act in the pastoral field and in schools to assume the commitment of forming the families, by promoting activities and alternative commitments; by helping in the creation of a family schedule for the for the TV use, teaching how to choose, accompanying in judgement and confrontation with values

Concretely: to know how to choose one’s own use of the media also in the community; to read serious criticisms; to instruct oneself; to debate, to judge and evaluate the most viewed cinematographic and TV products. We must not be afraid to show our own way of evaluating the mass media culture after confronting it with the Christian vision. Moreover, let us not overlook the new frontiers of communication: internet with the video sharing and the social nets.

The means of mass communication, old and new, can be an extraordinary resource and the Directory guides us to a major collaboration among the media of catholic inspiration, in view of developing an organic pastoral commitment, well supported by the organisms and structures of the Church. Now let us ask ourselves, “Do we feel and are we operators of communication?” To be an operator of communication we need a “pastoral conversion”, but it is a priority. Immersed into numberless messages opposite to the Gospel, we receive the call to prove that it is possible to inculturate with the media without watering the Christian culture. We must be capable and coherent. We conclude with the words of Karl Rahner: “We must ask ourselves seriously and concretely whether there is space for newness and future in our spirit and in our heart”.

Caterina Cangià
Lecturer
In the Pontifical Salesian University
Via Cremolino, 143 – 00166 Roma