Youth, Social Media, and the Digital Gospel

Does the Church's more than two-thousand years of tradition have room to embrace the latest developments in digital communication and social media?  A new generation of Catholic digital missionaries, like high school student Caleb Herboth, think so.

NEW YORK, NY (JohnPaulMoments.com) - Does the Church's more than two-thousand years of tradition have room to embrace the latest developments in digital communication and social media?  Pope Benedict XVI thinks so.  The historic meeting with Catholic bloggers hosted in the Vatican this week is just the latest demonstration of the Holy See's interest in engaging a new generation of "digital missionaries."  That event, organized by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the Pontifical Council for Culture, opened dialogue with bloggers from around the globe.

But attempts to harness the digital savvy in service of the gospel are also playing out at the local level.  During this past Lent, three diocese in New York invited Catholic young people to produce imaginative videos promoting the sacrament of reconciliation.    The campaign, dubbed i-Confess, was intended to promote an all day confession event held this past April 18 by the Diocese of Brooklyn in conjunction with the Archdiocese of New York and Diocese of Rockville Centre; however, many of the videos have taken on a life of their own and continue to attract attention weeks after the conclusion of the scheduled day of confession. 

"Be Reconciled to God" is one of the most widely viewed of those videos.  When asked his motive for producing the video, Catholic high student Caleb Herboth replied that he wanted "to spread the mercy of God to the whole world." "I'm hoping the videos will inspire people to go to confession" he added, "So they can go to heaven at the end of their life."

In just under a minute, his video captures all the essentials for good use of the sacrament of reconciliation: examination of conscience, contrition, confession, and penance.  Scriptural wisdom and a quotation from the 7th century Saint Isidore are interwoven with the Sanctus to portray the internal drama of doubt and desire which often plays out in the conscience of the penitent.
Once upon a time, missionaries sought to bring the gospel to distant parts Africa, Asia, and the Americas.  Now new horizons are opening for those with the courage to bring the work of evangelization into the digital sphere. 

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About the Author:
Brother Randall Meissen, LC, is author of the book Living Miracles: The Spiritual Sons of John Paul the Great. He podcasts on John Paul 2 at JohnPaulMoments.com and can be contacted at rmeissen(at)johnpaulmoments.com.

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