In his message for the upcoming 44th World Communications Day (scheduled for May 16, 2010), Pope Benedict reflects on the good use priests can make of the new media in the work of evangelization.  Over the course of his remarks, the Holy Father encourages priests to keep abreast of the ever increasing means of social communication, and to transform these new tools into open channels for the proclamation of the Gospel.  A key passage of the Pope's text reads:

"The spread of multimedia communications and its rich "menu of options" might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web, or to see it only as a space to be filled. Yet priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of digital communications as faithful witnesses to the Gospel, exercising their proper role as leaders of communities which increasingly express themselves with the different "voices" provided by the digital marketplace. Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis."

For the full text of the Pope's message, entitled "The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in the Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word," click here.