"SOCIAL NETWORKS: PORTALS OF TRUTH
AND FAITH; NEW SPACES FOR
EVANGELIZATION"
Some Reflections
on the Message of Pope Benedict XVI
for the 47th World Communications Day
THE NEW DIGITAL AGE
(ERIC SCHMIDT & JARED COHEN, 2013)
The Internet, the world’s largest ungoverned
space.
 Communications technology has advanced in an
unprecedented rate in the 20th Century (from 350
Million online users to 2 Billion; from 750 Million
mobile phone users to 6 Billion).
 We project the reality that in the near future the
8 Billion people on earth will be online.

DO YOU KNOW THAT….
6
Billion Photos on FLICKER
 7 Billion Photos in PICASA
 9 Billion Photos in PHOTOBUCKET
 100 Billion Photos on FACEBBOOK
 1 Trillion YOUTUBE Playbacks in
2011
 4 Billion YOUTUBE Playbacks in a
Day
BUT DO YOU ALSO REALIZE THAT…
In 2007, there are 4,200,000 porn websites, which
is 12% of the total websites in the internet.
 72,000,000 visitors to porn websites in the world
monthly; of which 28% are women, and 72% are
men.
 42.7
% of internet users view internet
pornography.

MORE SHOCKING STATISTICS….
Annual revenue of porn websites is $US 57
billion; Child pornography alone generates $US 3
Billion annually.
 90% of young people view porn online while doing
homework.
 And millions of people all over the world
engage in online gambling which is a multibillion dollar industry from the US alone.

POPE BENEDICT XVI

“Unfortunately, though, they risk being
transformed into systems aimed at subjecting
humanity to agendas dictated by the dominant
interests of the day. This is what happens when
communication is used for ideological purposes or
for the aggressive advertising of consumer
products. While claiming to represent reality, it
can tend to legitimize or impose distorted models
of personal, family or social life.” (Message on
42nd World’s Communications Day, #. 2, 2008)
CRITICAL CHALLENGE
Yes, the E-Revolution has numerous
positive contributions, but they have
also turned out for the worse….
Can we use social networks as Portals
of Truth and Faith, as New Spaces for
Evangelization rather than digital
tools for evil and sin?
FROM INFORMATION TO KNOWLEDGE

“The exchange of information can become true
communication, links ripen into friendships, and
connections facilitate communion. If the
networks are called to realize this great
potential, the people involved in them must make
an effort to be authentic since, in these spaces, it
is not only ideas and information that are shared,
but ultimately our very selves.” (Pope Benedict
XVI)
Can social networking
deepen
my knowledge of self and
others?
FROM COMMUNICATION TO COMMUNION

“Social networks are the result of human
interaction, but for their part they also reshape
the dynamics of communication which builds
relationships: a considered understanding of this
environment is therefore the prerequisite for a
significant presence there.” (Pope Benedict XVI)
Can social networking be
an instrument of deeper
communion with others,
building communities
and enhance my
communion with God?
FROM FREE EXPRESSION TO
EVANGELIZATION

“In social networks, believers show their
authenticity by sharing the profound source of
their hope and joy: faith in the merciful and
loving God revealed in Christ Jesus. This sharing
consists not only in the explicit expression of
their faith, but also in their witness, in the way
in which they communicate ‘choices, preferences
and judgments that are fully consistent with the
Gospel…’” (Pope Benedict XVI)
Can social networking
motivate me to
evangelize myself and
others?
SOME PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
IN SOCIAL NETWORKING:
Communicating
Truth, Truthfulness
and Trustworthiness.
Bridging
Gaps
and
Building
Relationships.
Knowing and Sharing the Faith.

“In the digital world there are social networks
which offer our contemporaries opportunities for
prayer, meditation and sharing the word of
God…. There should be no lack of coherence or
unity in the expression of our faith and witness
to the Gospel in whatever reality we are called to
live, whether physical or digital. When we are
present to others, in any way at all, we are called
to make known the love of God to the furthest
ends of the earth.” (Pope Benedict XVI)