Here are some things that the Catholic Church must do if she wants to maximize her efforts in the New Evangelization. These are addressed to both leaders and laity. I know there aren’t a lot of pat answers to this stuff, but here are a bunch of them anyway.
She must:
- Become an expert in New Media.
- Learn, follow and participate in popular trends.
- Speak the language fluently.
- Forget the trends and be herself.
- Not pretend to be perfect, but…
- ...know that the truth she defends and protects is.
- Be not afraid…and take some chances.
- Assert her role as teacher and bulwark of truth.
- Be real.
- Follow the rules.
- Be creative.
- Break the rules.
- Meet people where they’re at…
- ...they are online.
- Make the rules.
- Remember that perception is not reality, but…
- ...perception still matters.
- Remember that she has more inside knowledge and experience in relating to the public (PR) than anyone and to…
- ...use that knowledge.
- Worry about what is cool.
- Build intimate relationships with her people.
- Not worry about what is cool.
- Lighten up about things.
- Get serious about things.
- Know that it’s not about New Media, it’s about the human person but…
- ...the human person is being formed and deformed by New Media.
- Let go of some things that don’t matter that much…
- ...hold tight to the things that do.
- Follow the example of others.
- Know that the devil is at war in New Media…
- ...join the war.
- Be the example.
- Invest heavily in New Media…
- ...especially Catholic New Media run by lay persons.
- Inspire and empower the Michelangelo’s and the Beethoven’s…
- ...get out of their way.
- Always preach the truth and…
- ...when necessary, use hyperlinks, websites, email, txt msgs, tweets and status messages.
- Remember new technologies are just a means, not an end…
- ...help those of us using such means to reach the end.
- Realize that it IS a beauty contest and…
- ...that she’s been given the most beautiful things of all.
Comments
Post a Comment
this is true and correct. :) love this post.
hope you’ll have time to check my blog
http://mercygrass.com
If the Catholic Church can restore classic Greek and Roman literature, create the university system, create Christendom which became Western Civilization, begin the hospital and orphanage systems, commission the world’s greatest architecture, music and art, creating a beautiful presence in the New Media is merely the next step in an exalted tradition.
NO problem. As you said, Matthew, we own the Splendor of Truth and the beauty of Christ and His Mother. With their help, we cannot falter.
Christopher, the Church is a hospital for sinners, not a refuge for saints.
Good list, especially as a corollary to Catholic influence within traditional media.
Nice post, Matt. Retweeting now.
Catholic Web sites, including that of the *National Catholic Register*, should reject anonymity in comments sections.
Please read Julie Zhuo’s op-ed entitled “Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/opinion/30zhuo.html?_r=1&nl=opinion&emc=tya1
I support freedom of speech in accordance with section 2495 of the *Catechism of the Catholic Church*, and also anonymous whistle-blowing to counter wrongdoing, but I believe that all Web fora should require posters to use their actual full names.
This is an addendum to my previous post on this thread. My full name is Stephen M. O’Brien.
Leticia…Can the Church not be both a hospital for sinners AND a refuge
for the saints? See no need for ANY exclusion despite the modernists who
prefer to see only the hospital aspect! Without the saints we would be in trouble indeed!
This is what I love about you, Matt, in these blog posts. You so totally get it. Thanks again for saying it. I wish someone else would pick up the corollary post about the need for a stronger formation emphasis on appropriate behavior according to Catholic values, in New Media venues. Something like ethics and decorum in the public forum 2.0.
Post a Comment
By submitting this form, you give The National Catholic Register permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.