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Evangelising Through The Media; effectiveness of internet and TV
Topic Started: Friday, 19. October 2007, 16:42 (724 Views)
Paduan
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I don't know if anyone here has seen the vocational video "Fishers of Men" for men considering priesthood. It's an American production and has very good production values, if a little bit 'kitsch' at points (that's just my personal reaction!). Click here to go to the USCCB page with a link to the video

England has much more sedate video at http://www.itistime.org.uk/.

I know which one I prefer, and it's been one of my dreams for a long time to produce something more approaching the American version but for the British 'market' - and get it into Catholic secondary schools on Careers days!

Additionally I've long had in my mind a design for building an Catholic 'community' on the Internet that would join 'cyber' with 'real' worlds and draw our people together.

Perhaps, if we aren't getting the practical results from the various hierarchies that we desire, we lay people should take up the baton? What's to stop lay organisations working independently to promote vocations using modern media? What's to stop some enterprising individuals building an independent evangelising network on the Internet? After all, take services like 'Facebook' for example: there's a network of people all communicating with each other. Not only that, but these services allow others to build their own 'networks' within their structure... there's no technical reason why lay people of faith shouldn't build these sorts of networks that serve to evangelise...

We are all asked to witness for our faith - we don't need to ask permission from the hierarchy!
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
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Rose of York
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Paduan
Friday, 19. December 2008, 15:11
I don't know if anyone here has seen the vocational video "Fishers of Men" for men considering priesthood. It's an American production and has very good production values, if a little bit 'kitsch' at points (that's just my personal reaction!). Click here to go to the USCCB page with a link to the video

England has much more sedate video at http://www.itistime.org.uk/.

I know which one I prefer, and it's been one of my dreams for a long time to produce something more approaching the American version but for the British 'market' - and get it into Catholic secondary schools on Careers days!
Go on then Paduan - just do it! Why not set up the sight, and send emails to Catholic schools webmasters, asking them to include your site

Keep the Faith!

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VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2008 (Zenit.org).- This Christmas we celebrate not only the birth of Christ, but also the birth of Vatican Television, which 25 years ago began to proclaim the Gospel through telecommunication images.

In his weekly television program "Octava Dies," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, commemorated the foundation of the Vatican Television Centre (CTV) by Pope John Paul II 25 years ago.
Father Lombardi, who also directs the television centre, explained that "the mission of the Church is the proclamation of the Gospel, it is communication; she cannot therefore leave aside the use of images, specifically television."
At the beginning, he said, CTV was "a small organization, but with an important mission to contribute to the universal proclamation of the Gospel, using the means and language typical of telecommunication."
The Jesuit continued: "This is what CTV tries to do: follow the Holy Father's ecclesial service and the great liturgical celebrations at the center of Christendom day in and day out.
"Benedict XVI renewed his confidence in it, encouraging it to collaborate with all those who work in the vast world of social communications with the same spirit: Television for the Church and for the Gospel."
Full article at Zenit
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Deleted User
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Dozens of churches around the world are planning to participate in a special missions trip that involves bringing Christ and His message to a huge community where the Gospel is not the most popular subject.
So far, nearly 2,000 teens have signed up for the “Online Missions Trip” to bombard popular social networking sites with stories about God.
“[T]his is a two-week opportunity for all of us to bombard Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, whatever social places you go to online, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” explains youth pastor at Alexandria Covenant Church in Minnesota and organiser of the missions trip, Tim Schomoyer, in a promotional video.
From February 1-14, students from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Bermuda and elsewhere will use the power of the internet to share Christ with people not only on the other side of the world but across the street and with friends in their school.
Pre-trip training on how to effectively get messages about Christ out using social networks began on Sunday and will continue until January 31.

Christian Today
It isn't clear from the article whether there is any Catholic involvement in this initiative, but it will be interesting to see how it goes.

KatyA
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Rose of York
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The sum total of Catholic evangelisation in my local area, carried out on behalf of diocese and parish (as opposed to individual initiatives is:

NIL

A very smart Christmas card was delivered, giving details of all Christmas services and events, in the local churches other than Catholic. Our church does not even display a bulletin outdoors. I did ask if it could be done, the answer was "No."

Mind you, parish funds were spent on sending two women on an evangelisation course!

I reckon you can do more evangelisation by being open about being a Catholic, and being ready to talk about it, than you would do by indulging in professionally produced initiatives.
Keep the Faith!

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Fr Ray draws attention to this post on Orbis Catholicus
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Yesterday Italian newspapers noted that the oldest Facebook group (fan club) for the Pope has only 45 members. Maintained by a Croatian, the name of the group is "Viva il papa Benedetto XVI." The news outlets boasted that this was proof that the "approval rating" for the Pope is now at its lowest.
In a rage, I joined the group after reading the article. This afternoon, membership is at 580.
If you're on Facebook then join this group and stick it in the face of the media pundits who then pointed out that an anti-Pope Italian group on Facebook had 4,835 members.
Join here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=684230887&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=40607914746&ref=mf

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The Vatican's youtube site is now open http://uk.youtube.com/vatican
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The Pontifical Council for Social Communications, headed by Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, began a five-day conference yesterday reflecting on the Internet's evolution in recent years: Web pages, blogs and social networks -- including Facebook, YouTube, Fliker and Twitter. The report on Zenit concludes
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Archbishop Celli stressed the example Benedict XVI has given, by deciding to be present on YouTube with an official channel http://www.youtube.com/vatican.

The prelate revealed that a journalist asked him how it is possible that a Pope "lowers" himself to be present in a reality such as this, in which all sorts of videos appear. The archbishop explained that Christ also "lowered" himself to assume human nature, and explained that Benedict XVI's intention is to be "where people meet."

Several cardinals are already present on Facebook, leading one congress participant to ask if the Pope will also enter this virtual community. Archbishop Celli's answered that no thought is being given to it, at least not immediately.

http://zenit.org/article-25314?l=english
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Deacon Robert
Saturday, 8. March 2008, 19:09
From the website of USCCB
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Maybe TV isn't so bad after all.
An estimated 92,000 inactive Catholics in the Phoenix Diocese have come back to the church in the last year thanks in large part to a groundbreaking television advertising campaign called Catholics Come Home.
The promotional spots featured people and locations from around the Phoenix Diocese to promote the church during prime-time television. The cornerstone of the campaign, the Catholics Come Home Web site, addresses often misunderstood aspects of the faith.
"For those who had fallen away from the practice of their faith, it let them know that we want them to come home," Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said.
read more
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I wasn't sure whether this was more appropriate in this thread, or the "knowledge" thread. A.N.Wilson has written an excellent (IMHO) article in the Mail commenting on media treatment of Christianity and his own return to faith
A.N.Wilson
 
For much of my life, I, too, have been one of those who did not believe. It was in my young manhood that I began to wonder how much of the Easter story I accepted, and in my 30s I lost any religious belief whatsoever.
Like many people who lost faith, I felt anger with myself for having been 'conned' by such a story. I began to rail against Christianity, and wrote a book, entitled Jesus, which endeavoured to establish that he had been no more than a messianic prophet who had well and truly failed, and died.
Why did I, along with so many others, become so dismissive of Christianity?
Like most educated people in Britain and Northern Europe (I was born in 1950), I have grown up in a culture that is overwhelmingly secular and anti-religious. The universities, broadcasters and media generally are not merely non-religious, they are positively anti.
To my shame, I believe it was this that made me lose faith and heart in my youth. It felt so uncool to be religious. With the mentality of a child in the playground, I felt at some visceral level that being religious was unsexy, like having spots or wearing specs.
This playground attitude accounts for much of the attitude towards Christianity that you pick up, say, from the alternative comedians, and the casual light blasphemy of jokes on TV or radio.

A.N.Wilson
 
My own return to faith has surprised no one more than myself. Why did I return to it? Partially, perhaps it is no more than the confidence I have gained with age.

Mailonline full article

KatyA
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KatyA
Saturday, 18. April 2009, 22:32
I wasn't sure whether this was more appropriate in this thread, or the "knowledge" thread. A.N.Wilson has written an excellent (IMHO) article in the Mail commenting on media treatment of Christianity and his own return to faith
Mailonline full article

KatyA
Many thanks this does indeed address issues raised by me in the thread on "Knowledge" but the other benefit is that it has brought back into the active domain a thread on 'Evangelising Through The Media'. and a post you made in December 2008


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VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2008 (Zenit.org).- This Christmas we celebrate not only the birth of Christ, but also the birth of Vatican Television, which 25 years ago began to proclaim the Gospel through telecommunication images.

In his weekly television program "Octava Dies," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, commemorated the foundation of the Vatican Television Centre (CTV) by Pope John Paul II 25 years ago.
Father Lombardi, who also directs the television centre, explained that "the mission of the Church is the proclamation of the Gospel, it is communication; she cannot therefore leave aside the use of images, specifically television."
At the beginning, he said, CTV was "a small organization, but with an important mission to contribute to the universal proclamation of the Gospel, using the means and language typical of telecommunication."
The Jesuit continued: "This is what CTV tries to do: follow the Holy Father's ecclesial service and the great liturgical celebrations at the center of Christendom day in and day out.
"Benedict XVI renewed his confidence in it, encouraging it to collaborate with all those who work in the vast world of social communications with the same spirit: Television for the Church and for the Gospel."
Full article at Zenit
[/b]

This is pertinant to the thread on reaching out to the isolated.
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Mairtin
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Following on Penfold's comments, it's perhaps worth pointing out that the Pontifical Council For Social Communications issued a document “THE CHURCH AND INTERNET” (link) back in 2002.

The document is a very good analysis of the opportunities and threats the Internet offers to the Church. Overall, they are extremely positive, ideed enthusiastic, about the Internet saying
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And even though the world of social communications “may at times seem at odds with the Christian message, it also offers unique opportunities for proclaiming the saving truth of Christ to the whole human family. Consider...the positive capacities of the Internet to carry religious information and teaching beyond all barriers and frontiers. Such a wide audience would have been beyond the wildest imaginings of those who preached the Gospel before us...Catholics should not be afraid to throw open the doors of social communications to Christ, so that his Good News may be heard from the housetops of the world”.
(John Paul II, Message for the 35th World Communications Day, n. 3, May 27, 2001 )

Note to Moderators
That document and the accompanying one Ethics in Internet may be worth adding into the forum library.
Added to reference library Link
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VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At the end of his general audience, celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made a brief appeal for World Communications Day, due to be held on Sunday 24 May.

Speaking English, the Holy Father recalled how in his Message for the Day this year "I am inviting all those who make use of the new technologies of communication, especially the young, to utilise them in a positive way and to realise the great potential of these means to build up bonds of friendship and solidarity that can contribute to a better world.

"The new technologies", he added, "have brought about fundamental shifts in the ways in which news and information are disseminated and in how people communicate and relate to each other. I wish to encourage all those who access cyberspace to be careful to maintain and promote a culture of respect, dialogue and authentic friendship where the values of truth, harmony and understanding can flourish.

"Young people in particular, I appeal to you: bear witness to your faith through the digital world! Employ these new technologies to make the Gospel known, so that the Good News of God's infinite love for all people, will resound in new ways across our increasingly technological world!"
VIS
Message for World Communications Day
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VATICAN CITY, MAY 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican is set to unveil its newest Web page this week. Called Pope2You.net, the site aims to bring the words and messages of Benedict XVI to the youth.
Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Vatican Council for Social Communications, told ZENIT the project is a response to Benedict XVI's message for the World Day of Social Communications, which was addressed to the "digital generation."
Zenit
The new website, launched today is at http://www.pope2you.net/
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An address given at Allen Hall by Fr Federico Lombardi SJ ( Director of the Vatican Press Office, Director of Vatican Radio and Director of the Vatican's television channel ) is available on the website of the Jesuit magazine, Thinking Faith
‘Blessed be the Net?’ – A Roman Perspective on the Problems of New Communications
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