Catholic Communication Campaign: If Saint Paul were alive today, he would be trending on Twitter

Friday, May. 08, 2015

By Susan Dennin

Director of Communications

Diocese of Salt Lake City 

Saint Paul was a communicator. In fact, about half of the New Testament stems from St. Paul and the people he influenced. Just imagine how he could get God’s message out if he only had access to the Internet! In the world of social media, getting the message out early and often creates the most impact. Today, spreading the joy of the Gospel is as easy as a tweet, a Facebook post, a Catholic blog or an online prayer network. 

In his message for this year’s 49th World Day of Communications, Pope Francis calls us to recognize that through communication, “we experience gratitude and joy,” and that “relating our experiences means realizing that our lives are bound together as a single reality, that our voices are many, and that each is unique.” 

Social media has the power to help transmit our faith and is the most effective way to spread the Word of God. In fact, Pope Francis has spoken many times about the need for us to hear the call to go out to those who are “on the margins” of human existence. This call to go forth has increased urgency today in light of so many world crises.  

St. Paul is one of the best all-time examples of living this call; he tried to reach out to the entire known world with the message of the Gospel. Of course, this required extensive travel at a time when traveling was not just complicated and exhausting but full of risks. Now, the power of technology enables us as Catholics to have a global outreach without leaving our home. Through the Internet, television, radio, and newspapers, the Catholic Church uses media to spread the Gospel message. Just as St. Paul recognized that faith cannot be relegated to private sanctuaries but can only develop in the public square, so to must we support the efforts of the Catholic Church to share its message.

Whether you interact on social media sites throughout the day or prefer listening to the radio, the Catholic Communication Campaign provides a way to support high quality Catholic content. This annual collection funds an array of Catholic projects, including the For Your Marriage campaign and coverage of important events, like the visit by Pope Francis to the United States and the World Meeting of Families. In addition, half of all donations collected in our diocese stay in our diocese to support our local communications needs. 

Here in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, Archbishop John C. Wester recognizes the power of social media and uses it extensively in his pastoral outreach. He notes that “particularly in this day and age, communication is so important. While there are so many more avenues for people to communicate, the importance of people speaking the truth clearly has never been greater. All of the new media outlets are an asset to the Church, allowing her to proclaim the Gospel more clearly and completely.”

Social media connections enable us to educate and evangelize, to be modern-day St. Pauls. More importantly, they provide a platform that enables people to share their faith stories and to open the door to new encounters with Christ. The Catholic Communication Campaign helps us all to grow in faith, worship and witness. Please be generous in the collection, which will take place in most parishes the weekend of May 16-17. Help the Good News get “followed!”