Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) July 24, 2023: On May 28, 2023, the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication issued the wide-ranging visionary document titled Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media (which is available in English and other languages at the Vatican's website). It consists of 82 numbered paragraphs, followed by 53 numbered endnotes (but scriptural references are given parenthetically in the text). The overwhelming preponderance of endnotes are references to various visionary statements by Pope Francis.
Michael Czerny and Christian Barone instructively contextualize Pope Francis visionary social teaching in their 2022 book Siblings All, Sign of the Times: The Social Teaching of Pope Francis, translated by Julian Paparella (Orbis Books; orig. Italian ed., 2021), which I discuss in my OEN article "Michael Czerny and Christian Barone on Pope Francis" (dated July 10, 2023):
Because the social media are so prominent in our world today, I want to highlight here the Vatican's 2023 wide-ranging visionary document about how to proceed with optimal engagement with social media. Granted, it is couched in Catholic theological language.
The Vatican's 2023 wide-ranging visionary document begins with six introductory paragraphs, after which it is divided into four chapters, each with subsections:
Chapter I: "Watching out for pitfalls on the digital highway: Learning to see from the perspective of the one who fell into the hands of robbers (cf. Luke 10:36)" (paragraphs 7 through 24);
Chapter II: "From Awareness to True Encounter: Learning from the one who had compassion (cf. Luke 10:33)" (paragraphs 25 through 44);
Chapter III: "From Encounter to Community: 'Look after him' (cf. Luke 10:35) - extending the healing process to other" (paragraphs 45 through 63);
Chapter IV: "A Distinctive Style: Love . . . and you will live (cf. Luke 10:27-28)" (paragraphs 64 through 82).
Now, in Chapter I: Watching out for pitfall on the digital highway: Learning to see from the perspective of the one who fell into the hands of robbers (cf. Luke 10:36)," our Vatican authors of the 2023 document say, "everyone can participate in bringing about this change [in the online environment] by engaging with others, and by challenging themselves in their encounters with others [online]. As believers, we are called to be communicators who move intentionally towards encounter. In this way, we can seek encounters that are meaningful and lasting, rather than superficial and ephemeral. Indeed, by orienting digital connections towards encountering real persons, forming real relationships, and building real community, we are actually nourishing our relationship with God. That said, our relationship with God must also be nourished through prayer and the sacramental life of the Church, which because of their essence can never be reduced simply to the 'digital' realm" (paragraph 24).
Subsequently, our Vatican authors of the 2023 document elaborate this point: "One cannot share a meal through a screen. All our senses are engaged when we share a meal: taste and smell, glances, that contemplate the faces of the diners, listening to the conversation at table. Sharing a meal at table is our first education in attention to others, a fostering of relationships among family members, neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Likewise, we participate as the whole person at the altar: mind, spirit, and body are involved. The liturgy is a sensory experience; we enter into the Eucharistic mystery through the doors of the senses that are awakened and fed in their need for beauty, meaning, harmony, vision, interaction, and emotion. Above all, the Eucharist is not something we can just 'watch'; it is something that truly nourishes us" (paragraph 61).
Later, our Vatican authors of the 2023 document say, "By sharing the Bread of Life [in the Eucharist], we learn a 'style of sharing' from the One who loved us and gave himself for us (cf. Galatians 2:20). This style is reflected in three attitudes - 'closeness, compassion, and tenderness' - that Pope Francis recognizes as distinctive characteristics of God's style" (paragraph 64).
In endnote 39, our Vatican authors of the 2023 document say, "Pope Francis has spoken about God's style as 'closeness, compassion, and tenderness' on many occasions."
Pope Francis discusses how Catholic liturgical formation proceeds optimally in his 2022 apostolic letter Desiderio Desideravi (Latin words for "I longed for the desire" from Luke 22:15), which I discuss in my OEN article "Pope Francis on Catholic Liturgical Formation" (dated July 4, 2022):
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