RSSSEOUL (UCAN) — The Pope’s recent message on the pastoral use of new media is a vindication for Father Matthew Cho Myeong-yeon.
The priest has since 2005 run a faith-based website, updated daily, on spirituality. This is over and above his regular duties as parish priest of Kansuk 4-dong Church in Incheon diocese.
He says he usually gets up at 3 a.m. and works for two hours on the website. This is “quite demanding,” the priest stated.
Father Cho pointed out that although most local priests have their own computer, they use it only in a limited way such as e-mailing and searching the Internet.
“As the Pope reminds us, we need to maximize the use of new media for our pastoral work. My website has 8,664 members who are longing to quench their spiritual thirst. It’s why I reflect, write and update my website everyday,” he said.
Subscribers to his website, Opening Dawn, can also receive a daily missive by e-mail. Subscribers are mostly in their 20s and younger and include Protestants and Buddhists as well as people who do not practice any religion.
“The so-called ‘non-practicing Catholics’ also visit my website and sometimes leave a thank-you note for helping them to rediscover their faith,” he said.
Younger priests embracing Internet
He observed that many younger priests run websites, blogs or mini homepages to attract Catholic youths but lamented that this is not the case with priests in their 40s and older.
Pope Benedict XVI on the other hand recently urged priests to use multimedia tools to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.
In his message for the 44th World Communications Day, the 82-year-old Pope said just using e-mail or surfing the web was not enough. Priests should use the latest technologies to express themselves and lead their communities.
His message, issued on Jan. 23, and titled “The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word” suggests using images, videos, animated features, blogs and websites.
For Father Simon Kim Myoung-jung, the Pope’s suggestion is relevant.
Homilies alone ‘not enough’
Just giving homilies is not enough although “we priests try hard to make homilies interesting, moving and relevant to various age groups,” he said.
The 33-year-old assistant parish priest of Gil-dong Church in Seoul archdiocese has run a website for five years, uploading his reflections using PowerPoint slides, videos and text.
He said many priests visit his website to get material for their pastoral work.
Another web user, Father Stephen Chang Jae-bong, says he highly values the Internet and says that “online media is God’s gift that we must use as much as we can.”
On his blog Chang Jae-bong’s Playground that is primarily for seminarians, he has, since 2008, uploaded his daily reflections on the Bible and social events.
“I am not a parish priest who has to prepare his homily but am willing to take up that job because I can spread God’s love to ‘unknown’ people through my blog,” he said.
The theology professor at the Catholic University of Pusan points out that “priests should contribute to creating a better environment in cyberspace, which many people blame for its content of violence, sex and drugs.”
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