U.S. bishops increasing their digital presence

Nancy Phelan Wiechec

+ Enlarge

A woman displays the e-book version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on an iPad in Washington. D.C. June 14. The e-book version, which has been available through iTunes, Amazon and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' online bookstore, can now be browsed and read for free on the USCCB website. Authorized by Pope John Paul II in 1986, the catechism was first published in 1992, with a revised second edition released in 2000. CNS photo/Nancy Phelan Wiechec

ATLANTA – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is developing digital content to provide parishioners with online information, guidance and community, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, told his brother bishops on June 14 at the USCCB’s 2012 General Assembly in Atlanta, Ga.

Bishop Wester is chairman of the USCCB’s Communications Committee.

The USCCB has launched a new e-publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a Facebook page and Twitter feed, and videos are being created that include news from Rome and reflections on the Daily Readings, Bishop Wester said.

"The truth of our faith has not changed," Bishop Wester said. "Our Tradition—capital "T"—has not changed. But the people of our dioceses are living in a new world.... Americans are using the Internet not just for e-mail and searching for information. They use it to pay bills and make contributions, to find out what their relatives across the country and across town are doing, to make dinner reservations, to review movies and books, to buy almost anything, and to catch up with the grandchildren. But often they can’t make donations to their parishes – or to our national collections. It’s difficult to find a social network online to share their faith. And many of the church documents, or such resource materials as the Catholic Encyclopedia, are difficult to find online."

Therefore, the Communications Committee is developing a business model based on the reality that "news articles or reflections or catechetical resources that are online are expected to have a place where people – potentially anyone – can offer their thoughts in a digital reply. It’s instantaneous, it’s public, and it’s personal," Bishop Wester said.

To address different audience needs, the Communications Committee also is looking at ways to improve media relations efforts, create additional resources for pastoral leadership, and renew a focus on "resources that offer advice and encouragement for Catholics living their vocations in secular environments," Bishop Wester said. "This broad audience may not be well catechized, so we anticipate a strong emphasis on enculturation, including everyday language and practical applications of our teachings."

Increasing Spanish-language resources is necessary, Bishop Wester said, as is learning to communicate with a generation accustomed to digital communication that allows them to respond.

"The challenges of this moment in communications technology are a boundless opportunity for evangelization, if we are willing to speak – and listen," he said. "The back-and-forth digital communication that is spreading like wildfire across our dioceses is our chance to bring the Gospel to millions of Catholics."

In response to Bishop Wester’s presentation, several of his brother bishops elaborated on points that he had made. Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami agreed that Spanish resources are needed. "I think that should be a priority.... There’s a lot of Spanish media in the United States, both print and radio, that if we had the materials available in Spanish they would pick it up a lot more readily than the secular media in the English language," he said.

Bishop Alexander K. Sample of Marquette asked that cost-free materials be provided whenever possible, saying he thought that would "make the faith and the Gospel more readily available."

(For the text of Bishop Wester’s presentation, visit http://www.usccb.org/about/leadership/usccb-general-assembly/2012-june-meeting/using-the-new-media-for-the-new-evangelization.cfm.

To view the video of his presentation, visit http://www.usccb.org/about/leadership/usccb-general-assembly/2012-june-meeting/video-on-demand.cfm.)