Communio Et Progressio: a brief personal reflection
A few years ago, I was able to attend a conference in Dresden Germany and, while I was there, I had the opportunity to visit the Hofkirche or Holy Trinity cathedral. Situated in the only part of Dresden that was not leveled by bombs in the Second World War, the Cathedral stands out in a city full of modern communist style buildings but what most struck me about this building was its contrast. From the outside, the old cathedral was dark, dirty even, and seemed to slumber alongside the Elbe river as if it were a forgotten old car in an alleyway. Nevertheless, if you stepped past it´s stone guardians and made your way towards the alter, the cathedral seemed to emit light from within. Spectacular white columns and sculptures barely seemed to allow for shadows to form as they reflected the light shining through what I thought were dirty windows. Ornate gold wrapped around the pipes of the organ and even the checkerboard floor seemed to mirror the light. I still remember wondering how such a beautiful space could be held inside of those dark exterior walls.
I don´t mean to critique the maintenance of that one Cathedral. I could say just the opposite of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela after its recent renovation. The exterior is spotless as you gaze on it from the plaza while inside seems to always hold a few wisps incense from the last time the Botafumeiro glided through its archways. But this image has resonated with me in these last few days as I read through the recommendations and reflections of Communio Et Progressio. When our Church turns inward and only cares for those who are within her walls, we can turn our back on all of those who are just passing by. At the same time, our Church cannot only be attentive to the image that she communicates out to an ever more agnostic world, she must also consider the message that her faithful receive internally and not deprive them of the light that shines in from the world. This is an especially complex task in the fast-moving world of social communications, but I believe that Communio Et Progressio provides some wonderful recommendations to help ground us in this balancing act.
First, it should be noted that this document does not view social communication as a tool which the Church can choose to use to spread her message but rather as a natural progression of all peoples growing desire to live and communicate in communion with their fellow persons. Even the development of social media can be seen as an expression of human growth and interactions through which God continually acts to communicate His love for us. Situated in this way we can better learn to use social media without allowing it to become a means to an end or viewing it as some rather tool that only the most apt communicators can use.
At the same time, the Church provides us with some clear elements that can help us to judge, within this complex world of communications, the value of different engagements, proposals, or messages. On the one hand, the document states that “every communication must comply with certain essential requirements and these are sincerity, honesty, and truthfulness” and later on continues, “Freedom of speech for individuals and groups must be permitted so long as the common good and public morality be not endangered”. Each of these elements can be wonderful guiding principles for both internal and external communications in the Catholic Church. However, I believe that the most important guiding element of Communio Et Progressio is its conviction that the Church must be engaged in the development of new media environments, engaging with them, learning from them, and helping to shape them as well.
This may seem evident at first glance, but if we are willing to follow these recommendations, in line with the assertion that social communication is not a tool but rather an extension of our human nature, we will be invited to consider how catholic moral and social teaching invites us to interact in these new platforms. If we recognize bullying, sexism, racism, economic inequity, and other forms of injustice in our local communities we must also confront them in digital platforms and through social communications. It is easy to critique the negative tone or degrading and dehumanizing dialogue that is ever present in social media, for example. However, we also have the possibility to engage in this dialogue and help try to change that environment. Perhaps that is a difficult, almost impossible task, but at this very moment, our Church is also calling on all of us to try to stem the tide of climate change and fight global social injustice. Is a more loving and constructive social media environment more “impossible” than any of these proposals or are we just too browbeaten to fight for it?
The great difficulty that I see with this challenge is that, while we are all connected through these new media platforms, in a very real way, each of us is living within our own little environment. That means that each of us needs to look deeply and prayerfully at our own personal digital Church and consider what type of communications we need to better care for. Do I find peace and light within my social groups while I attack or degrade others? Or could I simply do a better job of sharing the beauty and light we have found with the outside world? Have I worked tirelessly to find the best expression of my faith and my Church but lost touch with what my community needs most at this moment? Or do I simply need to open a few windows and let new fresh air rush in for a while? These are difficult questions to ask…
The good news is that the last section of Communio Et Progressio gives us a structure that we can follow to reflect on these debated on different levels. Chapter IV provides a series of indications and recommendations for the establishment of offices, leaders, and communities that could help us respond to the challenges of these new media environments. It gives us a road map to follow as we set out to visit these digital churches and take stock of their current state. Who needs a quick cleaning and who needs a huge renovation? Where are the best architects and where can we find the artist? Let the work begin.
