Social media "need the commitment
of all who are conscious of the value of dialogue, reasoned debate and
logical argumentation," the pope said.
Social forums need to be used wisely and well, which means fostering balanced and respectful dialogue and debate, he said, and paying special attention to "privacy, responsibility and truthfulness."
Too often, popularity -- garnered either from fame or strategic powers of persuasion -- determines the "significance and effectiveness" of online communication, not "intrinsic importance or value," he said.
Catholics can "show their authenticity" by sharing their hope and joy, and its source in Jesus Christ. Catholics also should give witness by the way they live their lives and how their "choices, preferences and judgments" are fully consistent with the Gospel, he added.
Social forums need to be used wisely and well, which means fostering balanced and respectful dialogue and debate, he said, and paying special attention to "privacy, responsibility and truthfulness."
Too often, popularity -- garnered either from fame or strategic powers of persuasion -- determines the "significance and effectiveness" of online communication, not "intrinsic importance or value," he said.
Catholics can "show their authenticity" by sharing their hope and joy, and its source in Jesus Christ. Catholics also should give witness by the way they live their lives and how their "choices, preferences and judgments" are fully consistent with the Gospel, he added.
2 comments:
This is excellent. I remember, with regret, that I too am guilty of falling into this trap. In a somewhat different way, but the result is the same. It was the infamous case of Bill Clinton's being caught as a sinner. Now, I was not glad about that; but the result was the same - a feeling of "gotcha"!: now you will be removed from Office.
This is far - and hopefully I have learnt - from the Christian way. Bill Clinton needed prayer. If guilty or not, it was and remains none of my business. My business is only to pray for him, as for all people.
There is too much of this "gotcha" mentality. Certainly this needs to be balanced: St. Francis de Sales teaches in the Devout Life that there remains one exception to looking away, making excuses... the person is involved in an open and public attack upon the Church. If this can be determined, then de Sales states that one can be openly critical of said person.
An important exception would be to protect innocents but aside from this, the prescription set out in the gospels is best.
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