1 Word Made Flesh and “Shared” Among Us
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WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US 1 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US 2 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US The following collection is a publication of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Communications Office GPO Box 368, Braddon, ACT, 2601 t: +61 2 6201 9859 e: [email protected] mediablog.catholic.org.au 3 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US Table of Contents Introduction 7 Confessions of a Digital Immigrant 9 Bishop Peter Ingham Finding the Wi-Fi 11 Beth Doherty Cyberspace: Our New Meeting Place 16 Christine Hogan Evangelising the Digital Continent 21 Bishop Julian Porteous Mindful Twittering 26 Anna Krohn Do Not Be Afraid 30 Yvette Nehme The Power of Visual Communication 33 Matthew Price Everyone Has a Story 38 Natalie Acton A Digital Body of Christ? 42 Dr. Matthew Tan From Rooftops to Newsfeeds 48 Sarah Juszczak Being Frank (de Sales) 53 Gavin Abraham See, Judge and Act Online 57 Stefan Gigacz Engaging Well with the Digital Life 62 Bishop Peter Comensoli Towards a Theology of the Internet 66 Fr. Jaison Paul Mulerikkal cmi 4 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US Musing on Life as a Digital Missionary 70 Chris Da Silva Navigating the New Media Landscape 74 Michael McVeigh God Does Not Make Rubbish 81 Fr. Rob Galea A Fisher of Men 86 Irene Sutherland Religious Engagement 90 Giselle Lapitan The Web and I 94 Bishop Greg O’Kelly sj Among the Wonderful Things 99 Annie Carrett Conclave 2.0 106 Robyn Fahy To Faithful Ends 109 Anita Parker Be an Aussie Catholic Celebrity 113 Emilie M. Ng Xt3 – The Message of Christ in the Third Millennium 117 Mary Elias The Changing Marketplace 122 Neil Helmore The Power of the Word 126 Anne Walsh The Church and the New Public Square 134 Adrian Middeldorp The Technology Train 137 Daniel Saban What’s on your Mind? 141 Michaela Hillam 5 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US 6 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US Introduction “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). These are the words at the very beginning of St John’s Gospel. They set the scene and tone of the Eucharistic readings that characterise this Gospel account. Over the centuries, theologians have tried to make sense of this concept, this Truth that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. As Eucharistic people, as people of the Incarnation, we believe it, and we allow these truths to dwell in our hearts. We ponder them, and as missionaries, we share them. This collection looks at the ways and means Australian followers of Jesus, particularly those working in the Catholic media, share the Gospel message through the new and emerging portals of social media. In his Message for the 47th World Communications Day, on the theme ‘Social Networks: portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelization’, Pope Benedict XVI focusses on the way social networks can be used to proclaim Christ’s message. Social networks invite a whole new realm of engagement; with images, ideas, words, media, film, video, cartoons, phrases, tweets, statuses and blogs. A whole new language has emerged which must be translated. Just as the Bible has been translated into thousands of languages, so too must the message of Christ be translated to fit the digital environment, without losing its power. “In the digital environment the written word is often accompanied by images and sounds. Effective communication, as in the parables of Jesus, must involve the imagination and 7 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US the affectivity of those we wish to invite to an encounter with the mystery of God’s love. Besides, we know that Christian tradition has always been rich in signs and symbols: I think for example of the Cross, icons, images of the Virgin Mary, Christmas cribs, stained-glass windows and pictures in our churches. A significant part of mankind’s artistic heritage has been created by artists and musicians who sought to express the truths of the faith” (Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the 47th World Communications Day, Social Networks: portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelization, 2013). This message encourages us to use these networks to proclaim, not only from the rooftops; but also from a status update, a Tweet, an Instagram, a YouTube clip, and myriad other ways. This collection is a modern response to the mandate to “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole of creation” (Mk 16:15). This book aims to respond to some of the questions about how to evangelise the digital world. How do we engage with social media for the greater glory of God? This is the key question that is asked by a wide range of Australian Catholic communications professionals. The contributors to this book work for the Church in Australia and are employed by dioceses, Religious orders, and national Church offices. They are educators, journalists, editors, graphic designers, computer programmers, academics and youth ministers. What unites them is a passion for the media, for inclusion, and for Christ. Here they share how, individually and in communion, through various social media portals, they have allowed the Word made flesh to be shared amongst us. 8 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US Confessions of a Digital Immigrant By Bishop Peter Ingham Bishop Peter Ingham is the Bishop of Wollongong. He is celebrating his 20th anniversary as a bishop this year as well as his 50th anniversary as a priest next year. He was ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney in 1993 by His Eminence Cardinal Clancy and was installed as the fourth Bishop of Wollongong in 2001. He is the Bishops’ delegate for the media and Chair of the Australian Catholic Media Council. I was born in 1941, in the midst of the turmoil of the Second World War. After the war, the world experienced a time of intense change. In Australia, we welcomed migrants and refugees seeking asylum who have since truly enriched our country. In 1956 I made a life- defining decision to enter the seminary and since then the world has continued to change at an exponential rate. Back then we wrote letters and waited in hope for the postman’s whistle signalling that we had mail! The 1960s, 70s and 80s were a time of great social change especially in the ways we communicated with each other, but the fastest change has occurred over the last decade and a half as a result of the Internet. Suddenly, a new social language has emerged with terms like blogs, tweets, Facebook and Xt3.com. As Chair of the Australian Catholic Media Council and the 9 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US Australian Bishops’ delegate for the Media, I am on a sharp learning curve. I am well aware that I am a ‘digital immigrant’ and not a ‘digital native’. But I am determined to assimilate with this new culture as best as I can. Last year I got an iPad for Christmas and it has opened up a new world to me especially with email and internet connectivity whilst on the road. I have people around me who are helping me navigate the world of social networking and I love reading comments and messages on my Facebook page. When I post something new on Facebook, I am always amazed at just how fast and far the message is spread. The capability of the Internet to be used as a tool to share the Good News far and wide in seconds is one of the reasons why the Church must engage with new media. Pope Benedict XVI’s last four Messages for World Communications Day have highlighted the opportunities and pitfalls of using the Internet. The Church and people of faith must not remain silent or remove themselves from the realm of public policy and debate; our opinions and contribution should be eagerly sought. The weight of evidence would suggest that from our long and rich tradition of Catholic faith and culture, we have much accumulated wisdom to contribute to public debate. For this reason, as much as any other, upholding and securing religious freedom is vital, not just for believers, but for society as a whole. So it is with this that I commend to you our eBook of reflections and experience, insight and advice from digital immigrants and natives, who have reflected on the ways they have used and continue to harness the power of social media for the greater glory of God. I hope you will be as inspired and challenged as I have been by their conclusions. + Bishop Peter Ingham 10 WORD MADE FLESH AND “SHARED” AMONG US Finding the Wi-Fi By Beth Doherty Beth Doherty is Communications Director for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Beth has also taught English as a second language in South Western Sydney; volunteered in South America; and has worked as an editor, and freelance writer. A journalist, teacher, photographer and musician, Beth is passionate about using these gifts to share a message of justice, peace and love. www.catholic.org.au mediablog.catholic.org.au When I travelled to Italy in 2010 for the canonisation of Mary MacKillop, I was still reasonably new to the world of Catholic media and had not yet worked out the best way to approach the constant demand for information or the need for speed.