By Sister Mary Ann Walsh
A
recent sign of technology in church was a man watching the Olympics on his
Smartphone. He may be among those very few Catholics who, the Public Religion
Research Institute says, “incorporate technology into their practice of worship.”
Public Religion’s
July 2012 report finds that few Americans use social technology for religion
and that Catholics especially lag in this area: while 19 percent of Evangelical
Christians reported having posted something about being in church on Facebook, only
six percent of mainline Protestants and two percent of Catholics have done so.
It added that while a quarter of Evangelicals have downloaded or listened to a
sermon on line, just six percent of mainline Protestants and Catholics have
done so.
However, there is
much proof that Catholics are present in the new media world via blogs,
Facebook, Twitter, web pages and other forms of social media.
The
U.S. bishops’ website, www.usccb.org
attracts almost 100,000 visitors each day to its site for liturgical readings
of the day, www.usccb.org/bible/readings.
These visitors see and hear a brief reflection on the readings at www.usccb.org/bible/reflections.
The
bishops’ Facebook page, www.facebook.com/usccb, boasts about 40,000 followers and is growing. Posts
on USCCBlog, found at http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com
find their way into other corners of the blogosphere, both through church
blogs, such as America Magazine’s
“In all things…” and blogs in the secular arena, including Huffington Post, Politico, Washington’s Post’s “On Faith” and USA
Today’s “Faith & Reason.”
A
recent social media foray is the church’s religious liberty texting campaign.
The bishops urge people to text “Freedom” or Libertad” to 377377. Texters can sign
up for brief messages about religious freedom, a key issue now.
Church
blogs abound. Gossip blogs offer “inside” information, such as who might become
a bishop next. Several blogs feed a liberal or conservative base, and, I fear, stoke
church polarization in this election year.
Some
bishops blog. Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, files a “Monday Memo” at
www.tucsondiocese.org. Cardinal
Timothy Dolan of New York often makes news at http://blog.archny.org.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston lets people know what he’s doing on his
travels with www.cardinalseansblog.org.
Others, such as Bishop Christopher Coyne, apostolic administrator of the
Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and Bishop Anthony Taylor of Little Rock,
Arkansas, post homilies, or at least 140 characters from their homilies, on
Facebook or Twitter.
Catholics
who use the Web for spiritual development can go to many sites, including not
only the USCCB site but also sites geared to meditation, such as the Irish
Jesuits’ http://www.sacred space.ie and Franciscan Father Richard Rohr’s Center
for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, www.cac.org.
The
church has a long history of wise use of media technology. Once Johannes
Gutenberg invented movable type in the mid-15th century, the first book off his
printing press was the Bible. Radio became popular in the United States in the
early 20th century, and one of its first shows was “The Catholic
Hour,” which ran from 1930-1950, and featured the priest/preacher Fulton Sheen.
Television surged into popularity in the fifties and Sheen became an
Emmy-Award-winning TV star for his program “Life Is Worth Living,” 1951-1957.
The syndicated “Fulton Sheen Program” followed, 1961-1968. Given this history,
despite the Public Religion Research Institute data, the Catholic Church won’t
lag for long in use of the newest technological means of communication, social
media.
2 comments:
I was videotaped for a diocesan project here in Albany just yesterday... my topic, how do I find the Spirit moving in social media?
As someone who has been blogging, writing, Facebooking, Tweeting and since 2007, I believe that this is a powerful method of spreading the Gospel.
And that we have blogging, tweeting and Facebook bishops, priests and religious is a great thing. The church has yet to fully tap into this great resource, but indeed the Spirit pushes us forth.
Even churches now into social media participation, they update current and upcoming events. Its the fastest and a good way to reach out more people with a speedy time. Social Media Marketing on its run.
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