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29 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of service to his mission when he says, “Whoever serves me must follow me . . . .” There is growing interest in “following Jesus” by way of Catholic religious life, according to results from the most recent survey conducted by VocationMatch.com, the leading online religious vocation discernment website. Sixty-nine percent of the communities responding to the website’s annual “Survey on Trends in Religious Vocations” reported increased inquiries into religious life. Discerners—those interested in religious life—are primarily under 40 years old and say they are looking at religious life because of a desire for deeper spirituality. Most are quite serious about exploring religious life, and nearly 20 percent plan to enter religious formation in the next 12 months. In addition to their desire for a deeper spirituality and a life of faithfulness to the church, discerners say they are most drawn to a particular religious community by its prayer life and community living. A significant 35 percent ranked justice and peace outreach as essential. Celibacy, a life of service, and living simply are all perceived as more challenging to this year’s crop of discerners than last year’s. Prayer and spiritual direction continue to rank as the most essential element in making a decision about religious life, and the discipline of prayer remains the greatest perceived challenge in living as a religious priest, sister, or brother. “This information is vital to the life of the Catholic Church and the future of religious life,” commented Holy Cross Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., executive director the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) in Chicago. The NRVC and its publishing partner TrueQuest Communications annually survey discerners who have completed profiles on VocationMatch.com. Ninety percent of discerners say their inquiries into religious life are made easier because of access to information about religious life on the Internet. “With the dawn of instant and anonymous information-gathering via the Internet, we’ve begun to see a steady increase in inquiries about religious life, which we expect will translate into more vocations over the next decade,” said Patrice Tuohy, executive editor of VISION Vocation Guide and VocationMatch.com. Not surprisingly, those discerning a call to religious life still consider personal contact with someone in religious life as the most essential resource for gathering information about vocations (53 percent). However, “Come and See” weekends ranked high on every age group’s list (42 percent) as did working with a counselor or spiritual director (38 percent). A religious community’s website ranked next, above vocation directors, parish priests, parents, and friends, and 58 percent rated vocation-related websites as either very important or essential to their information-gathering. Source: TrueQuest Communications and VocationMatch.com. The full results of the survey are available online.

vocations vocationmatchcom survey on trends in religious vocations religious life discerners paul bednarczyk truequest communications patrice tuohy

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Net gains

27 Sep 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Would that the Spirit of the Lord come down on all the people, Moses says in the first reading this Sunday. Those who argue that access to all internet content should be just as open will likely be pleased by new regulations proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect "net neutrality." In a speech delivered at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Monday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed adding two new principles of network neutrality to those already adopted by the FCC in 2005. "The first would prevent Internet access providers from discriminating against particular Internet content or applications, while allowing for reasonable network management," Genachowski said. "The second principle would ensure that Internet access providers are transparent about the network management practices they implement." Genachowski also proposed clarifying that all six principles apply to all platforms that access the Internet. The last point is likely to be the most controversial because it appears to refer to wireless access. It has not been clear whether the 2005 principles applied to wireless operators as well as wired Internet service providers. Internet service providers, both wired and wireless, are struggling with the question of how to distribute network capacity among their subscribers. Heavy users can overwhelm cellular towers and neighborhood cable circuits, slowing traffic for everyone. At the same time, consumer advocates and Web companies like Google Inc. want to safeguard what has been an underlying "Net neutrality" assumption of the Internet: that all types of data are treated equally. If carriers can degrade or block traffic, they become the gatekeepers of the Internet, able to shut out innovation, these critics say. Source: Articles by Stephen Wildstrom for Business Week and Peter Svensson for Associated Press

internet federal communications commission fcc net neutrality julius genachowski wireless

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Go forth and blog, pope urges

31 Jan 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Pope Benedict XVI took advantage of the World Day of Communications last Saturday to urge those in ministry to use all the multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the gospel. But just as Saint Paul warns in the reading from 1 Corinthians that communication without love is nothing more than “a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal,” Benedict added that priests who venture online “should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ.” The pope, whose own presence on the Web has grown heavily in recent years, urged priests to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures. “The spread of multimedia communications and its rich ‘menu of options’ might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web,” but priests are “challenged to proclaim the gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources,” he said. The 82-year-old pope has often been wary of new media. He has warned of the tendency of entertainment media to trivialize sex and promote violence while lamenting that the endless stream of news can make people insensitive to tragedies. But Benedict has also praised new ways of communicating as a “gift to humanity” when used to foster friendship and understanding. The Vatican has tried hard to keep up to speed with the rapidly changing field. Last year it launched a YouTube channel as well as a portal dedicated to the pope, Pope2you.net. The social networking and communications portal offers news on the pontiff’s trips and speeches and features a Facebook application that allows users to send postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages to their friends. The Vatican also announced this week that the pope has made changes to provisions of canon law. One concerns marriages for Catholics who have formally renounced the church and the other concerns the ministry of deacons. The changes came in a “motu proprio” titled “Omnium in mentem (In the Mind of All).” Source: Articles by Ariel David for Associated Press, CathNewsAsia.com, Zenit.org, and Vatican Information Service

Marriage communications canon law motu proprio omnium in mentem in the mind of all world wide web priests benedict xvi internet Deacons world day of communications

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Go forth and blog, pope urges

31 Jan 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Pope Benedict XVI took advantage of the World Day of Communications last Saturday to urge those in ministry to use all the multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the gospel. But just as Saint Paul warns in the reading from 1 Corinthians that communication without love is nothing more than “a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal,” Benedict added that priests who venture online “should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ.” The pope, whose own presence on the Web has grown heavily in recent years, urged priests to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures. “The spread of multimedia communications and its rich ‘menu of options’ might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web,” but priests are “challenged to proclaim the gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources,” he said. The 82-year-old pope has often been wary of new media. He has warned of the tendency of entertainment media to trivialize sex and promote violence while lamenting that the endless stream of news can make people insensitive to tragedies. But Benedict has also praised new ways of communicating as a “gift to humanity” when used to foster friendship and understanding. The Vatican has tried hard to keep up to speed with the rapidly changing field. Last year it launched a YouTube channel as well as a portal dedicated to the pope, Pope2you.net. The social networking and communications portal offers news on the pontiff’s trips and speeches and features a Facebook application that allows users to send postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages to their friends. The Vatican also announced this week that the pope has made changes to provisions of canon law. One concerns marriages for Catholics who have formally renounced the church and the other concerns the ministry of deacons. The changes came in a “motu proprio” titled “Omnium in mentem (In the Mind of All).” Source: Articles by Ariel David for Associated Press, CathNewsAsia.com, Zenit.org, and Vatican Information Service

Marriage communications canon law motu proprio omnium in mentem in the mind of all world wide web priests benedict xvi internet Deacons world day of communications

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Traffic rules approved for information superhighway

26 Dec 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the gospel for Christmas Mass during the day, we hear that John came “to testify to the light” that would enlighten everyone. After more than five years of testimony and debate, the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday approved controversial new regulations for Internet access. The new regulations are designed to safeguard the free flow of information on the Internet. The so-called net neutrality rules are designed to prevent Internet service providers from giving priority to their own offerings by restricting the ability to watch TV shows or movies online, for example, or slowing the delivery of programs or services from competitors. Supporters of net neutrality said the proposed regulations don't go far enough, while opponents say they amount to unwarranted interference that will stifle free-market innovation. Source: Articles by Jim Puzzanghera for the Los Angeles Times, Hiawatha Bray for the Boston Globe, and Dan Lyons for The Daily Beast

internet federal communications commission net neutrality

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Effort to broaden broadband access

13 Nov 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Prosperity isn’t the money in your pocket in the present but in how you invest in the future,” says Prepare The Word’s Sunday Summary with reference to this Sunday’s responsorial psalm. Lower income families will be able to make an affordable investment in their children’s educational future thanks to a new initiative by cable companies to offer broadband Internet service for $9.95 a month. The offer will start next summer and is part of an effort by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to get more U.S. homes connected to broadband. One third, or about 35 million homes, don't have broadband. That affects people's ability to educate themselves and find and apply for jobs, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. All the major cable companies have agreed to offer the low-cost service to homes with children that are eligible for free school lunches. "The broadband adoption gap in the U.S. is very large, and the costs of digital exclusion are high and getting higher," Genachowski said. The initiative, called Connect-to-Compete, also includes Microsoft Corp., which pledges to sell PCs with its Office software suite for $250 to low-income families. A firm called Redemtech is offering to sell refurbished computers for $150, including shipping. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association estimates that about 5.5 million homes that don't have broadband will be eligible for the offer. For those who can't afford those prices, Morgan Stanley is pledging to develop a microfinance lending program for community-based financial institutions. Source: An article by Peter Svensson for the Associated Press

Education low income families connect-to-compete redemtech morgan stanley julius genachowski fcc federal communications commission microsoft internet broadband

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God's domain not only online

20 Oct 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"I shall deliver a just decision for her," says the dishonest judge of the widow's appeal to him in the parable told by Jesus in this Sunday's gospel. Vatican officials this week expressed satisfaction of the decision to award them control of the new internet domain .catholic.The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which coordinates the assignment of Internet domain names and addresses around the world, has been allowing entities to apply for ownership of hundreds, and soon thousands, of new domain names such as .london and .insurance, among others.The Pontifical Council for Social Communications completed the application process last summer and just received approval that it will now control the new Internet address extension .catholic and decide who is allowed to use it.Use of the domain will be limited to dioceses, parishes, and other territorial church jurisdictions; religious orders and other canonically recognized communities; and Catholic institutions such as universities, schools, and hospitals. The Vatican plans to allow “institutions and communities that have canonical recognition” to use the extension “so people online—Catholics and non-Catholics—will know a site is authentically Catholic,” said Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the council.Controlling the domain name will promote “a more cohesive and organized presence” of the church online “so the recognized structure of the church can be mirrored in the [sic] digital space,” Tighe said. The Vatican does not plan to allow individual bloggers or private Catholics to use .catholic.Homily hint: As the world more and more relies on online communities for all sorts of interactions, it does faith communities well to continue to promote face-to-face interaction. Let's not completely "screen ourselves off" from the flesh and blood, lived experience of the Body of Christ. Source: An article by Carol Glatz for Catholic News Service

paul tighe pontifical council for social communications icann internet domains .catholic

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Learning from social communications

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

Print media is contracting—but not because it is getting replaced by online media. It is dwindling because it is mass media. What is happening is that the massification of communications appropriate for the industrial era has given way to targeted and more fragmented communications. That does not mean that all print media is dying, nor that the future for all online media is uniformly bright. What it does mean is that we are back to “village” or “guild” communications where social networks are much more central. For that reason, print magazines built around targeted audiences are not facing the same challenges as newspapers oriented toward an undifferentiated population within a large metropolitan area. Evangelization is a specialized form of communication, and all efforts to build community in any particular parish or other Catholic faith community obviously depend on communication. Yet have we really “gotten the memo” on the move from mass communications to social communications? Parishes were once almost uniformly dominated by the concerns of young families, places for the education of young children. Today, boutique parishes have emerged in a natural process; parishes of young families continue to be found, yes, but there are also parishes that are primarily ports of entry for immigrants, places to celebrate particular cultures or traditions, and parishes where burials far outnumber baptisms. What are we doing today to build up communities in the same way that social communications build up communities of conversation? We cannot expect that people will come simply because they are there in a particular area any more than we can expect that people will read a metropolitan newspaper because they live in a particular area. But by reaching out to people’s aspirations and culture, by building relationships virally, from friend to friend, we can truly build church in our time. Merely adopting Facebook for evangelization is not enough. The church has to “become” Facebook. © 2011, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

media social media communications

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Church and social media

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

Communication is about communio, fellowship. That means it is the work of the Holy Spirit. Yet how frequently do we see social media, including social media in the church, as a work of the Holy Spirit? Twitter feeds, Facebook, journalism, public relations—aren’t these privileged places where the work of the Holy Spirit is being done today? That is surely why Pope John Paul II prophetically described the New Evangelization as “new in its methods.” Few aspects of contemporary life exhibit as many new methods as social media. Certainly, newspapers and magazines are being buffeted by the dramatic changes provoked especially by the internet. Yet for all that, too often we go slowly, and that is both a fact and complication of the relationship of social media to the church today. Church magazines and newspapers have not disappeared, weekly parish bulletins are still printed and distributed, and investments in new forms of social media have simply not taken off in usage as expected by some. Here’s the problem: Most church leaders and Mass-attenders are just not early-adopters and nothing is going to make them so. Many can even be located at the other end of the spectrum—resistant to change. It would be a massive waste of energy and investment to expect that situation to change. The bulk of church approaches to new media have tended to simply adapt what already exists in traditional media—which is mere duplication: Existing readers remain, and only a very small minority move to adopting online forms of existing church media. Such readers would have mostly continued to read in the traditional form. The much bigger problem is how to reach entirely new generations and unreached persons with new means and products while simultaneously continuing the current forms. That makes unusual demands on social media specific to a church context. Perhaps it is time to ask those older readers of newspapers, magazines, church bulletins, and the like for ongoing, long-term investment in enterprises built for new forms of social media and designed for non-reached younger readers. The vast number of older readers cannot and ought not be asked to change their habits. Yet they cannot pass on the faith of the church by simply paying for the existing media and its ongoing maintenance. There must be creative new products and new networking to build the body of Christ in our time. That is the New Evangelization. And that is definitely the work of the Holy Spirit. © 2012, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

social media communications new evangelization

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New social media and church messaging

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

Social media in all its forms is now ruled by the expectations created by the internet. In the past, decision-makers could tightly control and share private messages while the broader public could not possibly know any particulars with reliability. As broadsides and newspapers developed, communications became printed and public opinion emerged as something entirely new in this sense. Charles Taylor, the great Catholic philosopher, points out that the public sphere as we know it simply could not have existed before the era of mass-distributed information. Note, however, that though mass-distributed such information was generally from only a few sources, both in terms of those who regulated information and those who ultimately oversaw the machines that printed it. Such information could be, and was, limited and manipulated by both the distributors of information. Today the internet has made everyone a potential reporter and everyone a potential direct recipient of information. Everyone can simultaneously be a recipient, aggregator, and spreader of social media. The boundaries once so clearly established in an earlier time have melted away. Distortions in information today are common, but they too regularly melt away in the sea of receiving and giving of information. These changes have come quickly for a church that famously thinks in centuries. Until only very recently could church life consist of cautiously parsed communication in carefully targeted ways to very limited publics from a distance. Leaders learned to control information and work with those who control the distribution of information, all for the good of the church. Much of the church’s ways still reflect that sort of communication. All these approaches to social media were appropriate to their time and media culture, and such lags are inevitable as things continue to change. Today, however, only one approach works: full and complete clarity. Opaque communications that were once appropriate are now self-defeating, and there is no turning back. Ecclesial culture and ecclesial communications will need to adapt and change. The only way to get the message out for the good of the church is to get it all out, all the time. It is no longer a question of funneling information but of pouring it out, constantly, that it might be received in its fullness. © 2013, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

social media communications

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