Bishop Christopher Coyne offers a post dealing with the beginning of the Year of Faith. In it he emphasizes Pope Benedict XVI's desire for the church to get more involved with the media, in particular, the digital media, which his Holiness calls, "the digital continent." He quotes:
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."(Matthew 28:19-20)
Bishop Coyne adds his own reasons to Jesus' proposal. The good bishop says he blogs because it's his way of talking about Jesus. He feels he's spreading the Good News, his way. He is going out teaching and baptizing and making disciples of all nations. And he does it his way:
There are times when what I do in the digital media is not specifically "religious," times when I use humor, poetry, music, art, irreverence, banter, etc., as part of my presence within the digital world. I do this as a means to an end. I am trying to serve as a "bridge" between God and the human person. I want my message to be "attractive" both in the sense of being "pleasing" to others as well as "attracting" or "enticing" others to "follow" me. I want people to hear the incredibly important, life-altering message of Jesus Christ and His Church.
In order to "speak in the light" and "proclaim on the housetops," I need to go where the proclamation will be heard. Today, the digital culture is one of those places. I desire to both evangelize through and evangelize the new media digital itself. Right now, there is too much "darkness" in the new media and not enough light. By bringing the name and person of Jesus Christ to the new digital media, by proclaiming the Good News, and by being a presence of Christ and His Church in the new media, I hope to bring others to either know Him for the first time or to know Him more deeply in His Church.
Does it take a lot time and energy? Yes. Do I have to be careful about what I say and how I say it? Yes. Do I sometimes make mistakes or take things too far or offend and upset some people? Yes. Does this mean I will stop doing what I do? No, for all of us are called to . . .
Me too. I couldn't have said it better, myself.
