4.9.1 The Church and the Internet
On 22nd February 200212 the Pontifical Council for Social Communications issued a document entitled The Church and the Internet. This was the first such work done on the internet and has, as its purpose, a consideration of the implications of the internet for
" South Africa is no stranger to this. A number of Evangelical Churches have run successful community radio stations and have been doing so for a number of years. The first Catholic radio station, Radio Veritas, was only launched in 1999. Yet there are a large number of Catholic schools in South Africa and the Church has put large financial resources into schools and educational institutes like St. John Vianney Seminary and St. Augustine College.
12 A companion document was released the same day entitled Ethics in Internet. These documents should not be confused and are to be seen as complimenting each other. The Church and the Internet deals with the implications of the internet for religion, especially the Catholic Church. Ethics in Internet deals with the Catholic perspective of the ethical issues which surround the use of the internet and serves as a starting point for dialogue with those outside the Church i.e. other churches, society etc. What seems to me extraordinary is that this is the first official document on the internet issued by the Church - some 8-10 years after the internet started to become a household product!
religion and especially for the Catholic Church. The document affirms the use of mass media, recalling the words of the Vatican II that there are 'marvellous technical inventions'. It warns that a censorious attitude towards the mass media is not sufficient or appropriate. It states:
Considering the media of social communication in this light, we see that they
"contribute greatly to the enlargement and enrichment of men's minds and to the propagation and consolidation of the Kingdom of God (2).
The document then goes on to acknowledge that the internet is bringing about revolutionary changes in commerce, education, politics, journalism, the relationship of nation to nation and culture to culture - changes not just in how people communicate but in how they understand their lives.
The document gives a comprehensive and positive account of how the internet can be used by the Church. It recalls that communication is at the heart of the Trinitarian life of God which the human person is called and invited to be part of. It lists the benefits of the media and then looks at the peculiar yet powerful benefits of the internet.
It offers people direct and immediate access to important religious and spiritual resources—great libraries and museums and places of worship, the teaching documents of the Magisterium, the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church and the religious wisdom of the ages. It has a remarkable capacity to overcome distance and isolation, bringing people into contact with like-minded persons of good will who join in virtual communities of faith to encourage and support one another. The Church can perform an important service to Catholics and non- Catholics alike by the selection and transmission of useful data in this medium (5).
Furthermore, it examines the way the internet can and is being used by the Church:
The Internet is relevant to many activities and programs of the Church—
evangelization, including both re-evangelization and new evangelization and the traditional missionary work adgentes, catechesis and other kinds of education, news and information, apologetics, governance and administration, and some forms of pastoral counselling and spiritual direction. Although the virtual reality of cyberspace cannot substitute for real interpersonal community, the incarnational reality of the sacraments and the liturgy, or the immediate and direct proclamation of the gospel, it can complement them, attract people to a fuller experience of the life of faith, and enrich the religious lives of users. It also provides the Church with a means for communicating with particular groups—young people and young adults, the elderly and home-bound, persons living in remote areas, the members of other religious bodies—who otherwise may be difficult to reach. A growing number of parishes, dioceses, religious congregations, and church-related institutions, programs, and organizations of all kinds now make effective use of the Internet for these and other purposes. Creative projects under Church sponsorship exist in some places on the national and regional levels. The Holy See has been active in this area for several years and is continuing to expand and develop its Internet presence.
Church-related groups that have not yet taken steps to enter cyberspace are encouraged to look into the possibility of doing so at an early date. We strongly recommend the exchange of ideas and information about the Internet among those with experience in the field and those who are newcomers (5).
It does not however only see the internet as a helpful tool for communication with the wider world but also within the Church itself. It underlines the fact that information and communication is a two-way process and not merely from the top-down. It recalls the principle of two-way communication which was called for in Aetatis Novae, an idea rooted in Vatican II. The internet helps us realise this vision if we use it to its full potential. It is an instrument, the document says, that can be put to creative use in various aspects of administration and governance; it also opens up the field for expressing public opinion, consultation, meeting preparation and collaboration in various sectors: locally, nationally and internationally. The document also highlights opportunities that the internet might avail for education and ongoing training. It encourages continued research
and study into the development of an anthropology and theology of communication with specific reference to the internet. The document concludes with some recommendations and addresses itself to specific groups of persons: Church leaders, pastoral personnel, educators and catechists, parents, children, young people and finally to all persons of good will.
The document also explores some challenges which the internet may present to the Church. It first explores the fact that media can be hostile to the faith and disseminate ideas such as that there is no absolute truth. It is also concerned with the proliferation of hate speech and people on the 'hate sites' who attack religious and ethnic groups. It draws attention to websites called 'Catholic', which can be confusing and it does not distinguish between eccentric doctrinal interpretations, idiosyncratic devotional practices and ideological advocacy which bear the name 'Catholic' but are not an expose of the authentic teaching of the Church (8). It also highlights the wide range of consumer products and services available on the internet, and cautions and discourages a spill-over effect which would approach the faith as a consumer product. Finally it warns of the virtual reality of cyberspace and sees it as 'worrying', as there can be no substitute for real presence and real community and shared presence in Eucharistic community.
4.9.2 Ethics in Internet
The Pontifical Council released a second document on the same day, 22 February 2002, entitled Ethics in Internet. This document was an attempt to set out the Catholic view of the internet so as to serve as a starting point for participation and dialogue within other sectors of society (2). The document begins by strongly suggesting that it is the human person and common good which are integral and this should never be forgotten or lost as the focus. It notes how the internet has been a driving force in globalisation, which has brought about sweeping social change (4). However, it urges that this new information technology be informed, used and guided by a 'resolute commitment to the practice of solidarity in the service of the common good...' (5). It underlines what was said in
Communio et Progressio: '...media have the ability to make every person everywhere a partner in the business of the human race' (5). It acknowledges the fact that the internet could, if not used properly, also widen the gap between rich and poor, those who have access and those who do not. It encourages society to make sure that this does not happen and that the internet is used to close this gap rather than widen it. The document then goes on to give a positive hopeful vision which captures the spirit in which the internet can be used to the advantage of all:
This is an astonishing vision. The Internet can help make it real — for individuals, groups, nations, and the human race — only if it is used in light of clear, sound ethical principles, especially the virtue of solidarity. To do so will be to everyone's advantage, for "we know one thing today more than in the past: we will never be happy and at peace without one another, much less if some are against others". This will be an expression of that spirituality of communion which implies "the ability to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from God," along with the ability "to 'make room' for our brothers and sisters, bearing 'each other's burdens' {Gal. 6, 2) and resisting the selfish temptations which constantly beset us" (5).
It continues by saying that the internet raises a number of ethical questions. There is recognition of the power of the internet in the document:
It is instantaneous, immediate, worldwide, decentralized, interactive, endlessly expandable in contents and outreach, flexible and adaptable to a remarkable degree. It is egalitarian, in the sense that anyone with the necessary equipment and modest technical skill can be an active presence in cyberspace, declare his or her message to the world, and demand a hearing. It allows individuals to indulge in anonymity, role-playing, and fantasizing and also to enter into community with others and engage in sharing. According to users' tastes, it lends itself equally well to active participation and to passive absorption into "a narcissistic,
self-referential world of stimuli with near-narcotic effects" It can be used to break down the isolation of individuals and groups or to deepen it (7).
It also looks at some areas of concern in the ethical domain and then finally lists a number of recommendations and offers a conclusion. It attempts to measure the internet by its virtue of solidarity and service of the common good. It looks at issues like regulation, responsibility and protection and acknowledges that, because of its global character, this will take on the form of global co-operation and consensus.
There is an appreciation for the internet and its power:
The Internet can make an enormously valuable contribution to human life. It can foster prosperity and peace, intellectual and aesthetic growth, mutual understanding among peoples and nations on a global scale (18).
There is acknowledgement that there are a number of concerns surrounding the usage of the internet and its impact on the vulnerable which needs to be reflected on and addressed. Hence, it seems clear, that the Church does acknowledge the internet as a powerful and influential tool. It also seems that the Church is positive about the role the internet can play and highlights legitimate concerns which require further reflection and analysis.