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Tag Archives: communications

A wolf in sheep’s clothing?

12 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Media

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catholic, communications, honesty, journalism, media, press

An actress portrays a reporter during filming in NYC

An actress portrays a reporter during filming in NYC

This week’s comments on the subject of priestly celibacy by the soon-to-be Secretary of State of His Holiness, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, are neither as alarming nor surprising as some reports make out. From a brief glance the interview in question, the Archbishop simply restates that priestly celibacy is a matter of discipline, not doctrine (which we already know), that it is something that is therefore not beyond discussion (has it ever actually been?), and that any discussion needs to be within the historical/theological perspective and authentic teaching of the Catholic Church. In other words, celibacy has been an intrinsic part of the ministerial priesthood since at least the fourth century, and for good reason; let’s start from there with our suppositions, rather than from contemporary secular notions that wish to push for the middle ground.

Certainly the example of Protestant denominations in the West cannot inspire the hope that a relaxation of the discipline of clerical celibacy would reverse the decline in vocations to the priesthood. Numbers, age, and general suitability for ministry, are all factors for consideration. The average age in Anglican theological formation in England, for example, is around 40. We’re appointing seminary rectors and bishops almost that age.

But my concern here is not any attempt to reignite tired debates about celibacy (by the way, when was the last time a priest in his 20s or 30s was interviewed about what he thinks on the subject?). I am more concerned by the reactions to this and other debates in the religious press, and the authenticity and reliability of responses from Catholic sources of news.

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WYD & Peer Evangelization

26 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Evangelisation, Media

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Benedict XVI, communications, evangelisation, pope francis, rio, social communications, social media, wyd, youth

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This evening I was watching the live feed from Rio as Pope Francis officially opened the 28th World Youth Day on Copacabana beach, renamed by the Twitterati as #Popacabana for the duration of the week. After the Pater Noster (sung beautifully to the Solemn Anaphora Tone, for those interested in that sort of thing), and the final blessing, that great anthem of World Youth Day, Jesus Christ you are my life, struck up. Immediately my mind leapt back to those wonderful days in Madrid a few years ago, and I quickly fired-off a text to a Norwegian priest-friend who is in Rio, reminiscing and promising prayers from England for the event.

Live feed. Twitter. SMS. World Youth Day has become an amazing Catholic moment in the social media world, and we have almost missed the significance of what is going on here. As I type this, #PontifexRio, #PapaFrancisco, and #Copacabana, have all been trending worldwide on Twitter, not just from on the ground in Brazil, but from across the world, as young Catholics enter into World Youth Day like never before.

In his message for WYD this year, Pope Benedict XVI (as he was then) spoke specifically about the need for young people to engage a ‘missionary commitment’ in the area of social communications. As well as quoting his Message for the 43rd World Communications Day in 2009, he asked young WYD pilgrims, who “have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this ‘digital continent'”, and to “[l]earn how to use these media wisely”. It seems to have worked.

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Communications and Proactive Evangelisation

22 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Evangelisation, Media

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Tags

communications, evangelisation, media, new evangelisation, new media, social communications, social media

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Photo: © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

In the coming weeks, with my move to DC imminent, I will be stepping down from my current role as Communications Officer for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. I began this job almost two years ago now, with no prior experience and no expertise; simply with an enthusiasm for the project and a passion for evangelisation, especially through new means, such as social media. And I certainly don’t claim to be anything like an expert now. I have had no formal training. I learned to write press releases from the gentle criticisms sent me by friendly journalists, and I have tried to present our work and mission in a positive light, sometimes in the face of negative or unthinking rebuke, even from Catholic sources. I don’t think we’ve done a bad job, and the Ordinariate is still in most of the Church press most weeks, and in the national press on a regular basis too.

At some level, though, it isn’t the press work that I think has been the greatest success, nor the primary focus of our work, because I do not believe that this is where the Church should be focussing her energies in the field of communications. Too often we are on the back-foot; responding to criticisms or situations, or buffeting the wires with information of limited interest to the public. Too often we are responsive, rather than pro-active; often failing to make real use of the opportunities presented to us to speak explicitly and articulately about the central precepts of the faith. Too often we have become experts in media work at the cost of becoming weak practitioners in the task of evangelisation.

This is seen particularly in two places. First, in social and new media we find large numbers of Catholic journalists, organisations, active lay faithful, and priests (and one English bishop, so far) making use of Twitter and Facebook. This is a seriously positive step forward, essential for raising awareness of the life of the Church, and also for reaching beyond our own flocks and friends. It is a tool of communication and of evangelisation. The problem comes, though, when an imbalance – usually communication over evangelisation – creeps in, either be poor individual judgement or a lack of prudence (i.e. engaging in polemical arguments or point-scoring against others), or – and this is perhaps more easily solved – because an organisation or individual adopts a ‘mediacentric’ view (i.e. seeking to promote news to journalists, rather than Christ to the world). If we fail to make use of the ‘digital continent’ as – in Pope Benedict’s words – ‘portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelisation’, then we are simply wasting our time out there, and engaging in what Pope Francis might call a ‘self-referential’ exercise, that does little to truly promote the gospel.

Secondly, it is a cause of some real concern that there is growing number of ‘professional Catholic’ journalists and commentators – lay and clerical. These are people who make use of their Catholic ‘credentials’ as a means of giving a particular view or outlook on a story – often in a secular sphere – but who do not make use of their chosen outlet (and increased portfolio) for pure, raw evangelisation. Be it Catholic newspapers or Twitter feeds, the church of the New Evangelisation has little time for those who simply wish to comment on the life of the Church, without themselves engaging actively in the central reason for the incarnation: bringing the light of Christ to the darkness of the world. Anyone who seeks to work for the Church – in whatever capacity – needs to speak regularly and clearly about the transformative love of Christ in their lives and the life of the Church, if they are to avoid painting a picture of a mere institution rather than the Mystical Body of Christ.

My call, then, is for a renewal in Catholic communications, for them to really become exactly that. It is a call to move away from ‘Catholics doing media’, and towards Catholics communicating the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, more explicitly and more comprehensively than ever before. We need a renewal that will see evangelisation, and the person of Jesus Christ, put at the centre of all that we do and say, so that every interview given, every press release issued, every message tweeted, will speak of Jesus Christ, and will explicitly seek to draw others to him.

If that means a story isn’t published, or our comment isn’t sought – fine. A content-light article or a painfully balanced piece isn’t going to bring the world to Christ. What might, is our own courageous witness to the joy and delight that comes from knowing the Lord Jesus in his holy Church, and that can’t be hidden under a bushel for the sake of journalistic credibility, press protocol, or an impressive scoop.

Communications in Rome

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Media

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communications, media, new media, social communications, social media, vatican

Greg Burke, Senior Communications Adviser to the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, gave this talk last week in London. I was privileged to be invited and I reproduce the video here as a good introduction to the structures and offices involved with press, media, and communications in the various dicastries and offices of the Holy See.

Conclave 2.0

12 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Uncategorized

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communications, conclave, evangelisation, fr robert barron, media, new evangelisation, social communications, social media

As the College of Cardinals gather to celebrate the Mass pro eligendo Papa in the basilica of Saint Peter, this morning, faithful from across the world will be tuning in to join them in prayer and in curiosity. Since the announcement of Pope Benedict’s resignation in early February, the Holy See Press Office, together with the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Radio, CTV – the Vatican TV service, and other communications agencies for the Catholic Church, have been servicing a massive worldwide audience, keen to know every conceivable detail of the conclave process.

What is new, even since the election of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, is that this is being done more and more through electronic media. Social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter are providing regular updates from the sources, as well as information from journalists. Most importantly, though, a new dialogue has formed between the Catholic faithful and the media, as snippets of information are gathered together from across the Twittersphere and from comment pieces on blogs and websites.

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Ritorniamo a pregare

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Uncategorized

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bxvi, cardinals, catholicism, communications, conclave, media, press

Today’s news from Rome is that the Cardinals who are meeting for the General Congregations will no longer give interviews about the meetings and about the forthcoming conclave. As I understand it, this is in keeping with the media blackout after Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005, though with the difference is that this time the Holy See Press Office will continue to give a daily Press Briefing, broadcast live on www.news.va.

It’s easy to assume that a heavy-handed ‘Vatican’ has closed-down the dialogue, but this would miss an important point. Without a Pope, the Cardinals themselves are the principal authority in the Church and so it is only the Cardinals who can (self-)impose this ban, which is what they’ve done. It’s also worth noting that the reason for enforcing this ban is that the confidential nature of the General Congregations was apparently undermined this morning by an article in La Stampa, an Italian daily newspaper.

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WYD 2013 and Social Media

18 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Uncategorized

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Benedict XVI, communications, evangelisation, media, new evangelisation, new media, social communications, social media, young people

Pope Benedict addresses young people ahead of World Youth Day in Rio next year:

I would like to emphasize two areas where your missionary commitment is all the more necessary. Dear young people, the first is the field of social communications, particularly the world of the internet. As I mentioned to you on another occasion: “I ask you to introduce into the culture of this new environment of communications and information technology the values on which you have built your lives. […] It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this ‘digital continent’” (Message for the 43rd World Communications Day, 24 May 2009). Learn how to use these media wisely. Be aware of the hidden dangers they contain, especially the risk of addiction, of confusing the real world with the virtual, and of replacing direct and personal encounters and dialogue with internet contacts.

Full text here.

In case you’re interested

21 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Uncategorized

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communications, ordinariate, social communications

Kathy Schiffer (@KathySchiffer) has written about some developments in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, which I was fortunate to be involved in whilst here in the US. You can visit her blog, Seasons of Grace, and read the piece here.

I met Kathy in Rome at the Bloggers Meeting organised by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications last year and we’ve stayed in touch since. It was great to catch up with her whilst here on holiday (not vacation, see above) and to give my reflections on those events.

Evangelisation on the Digital Continent

19 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Uncategorized

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communications, digital continent, Facebook, media, new evangelisation, new media, social communications, Twitter

I’ve finally got round to reading Brandon Vogt‘s book The Church and New Media, partly out of a sense of duty, and partly due to the onset of panic about a few talks I have been asked to give on this subject. I got my paperback version through the post last week – I’d have had the Kindle version, but it’s not available to download in the UK (so, you can order a book from the US, but not download a file… crazy).

Cardinal Sean O’Malley‘s introduction bears reading well, and so far Fr Robert Barron and Jennifer Fulwiler‘s contributions have been well worth considering – both in terms of the theological underpinnings of communication and evangelisation on the ‘digital continent’, and the importance of evangelisation through digital and new media.

But it’s the insight of Marcel LeJeune who really made me stop and think. LeJeune’s enthusiasm for a proper integration of social communications into the ecclesial environment is not only infectious, it’s a qualified success. At Texas A&M university, the chaplaincy (LeJeune is the fantastically named ‘Assistant Director of Campus Ministry’… only in the US) uses podcasts, YouTube, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, low-power FM radio and Flocknote (look that up is you want some cool parish communications tools). And it works – as his example of registering students with the chaplaincy via their ‘cellphone’ (sic) shows.

I might immediately baulk at the idea of getting students to get their iPhone out at the end of Mass, but really it’s no different from getting them to fill in a Gift Aid envelope, or remember the dates sung from the Epiphany Proclamation of Moveable Feasts – it’s about information being passed on for the building up of the Church, and the more effective proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, frankly, we often have people following the readings and the Order of Mass on their phones here and it’s less distracting than someone fiddling with their ribbons and swishing paper pages.

At a later date I want to write something more about this idea of the ‘Digital Continent’, which appears in this book and elsewhere in Catholic media discussions. In short, you’re either an immigrant or a native: so if you find it the most natural thing in the world to say your Office on your iPhone, or to be updating Twitter whilst the latest episode of your favourite show is on iPlayer, you’re a native; if you’re still using email as your main source of online communications (and I mean socially, not for work) – you’re an immigrant.

The Church’s new approach to social communications, especially the New Media, has to be founded amongst those whose thumbs were designed to slide across an iPad screen, not those who think that Bluetooth is a dental filling. And don’t take my word for it (cue Universal Pontiff):

It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this “digital continent”. Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: the greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the “Good News” of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people. Human hearts are yearning for a world where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. Our faith can respond to these expectations: may you become its heralds! The Pope accompanies you with his prayers and his blessing.

Preaching to the Connected

07 Monday May 2012

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Uncategorized

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communications, social media, web

Here is a link to an article I contributed to earlier this year. In it my friend William Newton examines the use of new media by Catholic clergy. As it was pre-blog, I thought I’d post it today.

I hope that it might be possible to arrange some training in new and social media for clergy in the next year or so. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

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