The status quo is no longer acceptable.
That was the gist of the two keynote talks during this year's Catholic New Media Celebration in Boston. The Catholic Church needs to become a leader in online communications and social media — and it needs to do so now.
Father Robert Reed, director of CatholicTV, an online and broadcast television network, suggested Catholics practice the craft of media production and web development as a skilled craftsman would fabricate a chalice: As the craftsman labors over every detail and creates a work of art, which leads the priest and those present at Mass to ponder the mysterious and divine Presence within, so should we communicate and design our websites so as to allow Christ's love and beauty shine.
There must be a professionalism to our craft. We cannot settle for anything less than the best, most useful, functional and interactive websites and service on the Internet.
There is no reason why the Catholic Church should be seen as lagging behind all other areas of the secular world in digital catechesis. After all, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed, in his Message for the 43rd World Communications Day, that we must all "take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this 'digital continent.'"
This year's Celebration was held at the Boston Archdiocese Pastoral Center, a very nice venue with high-speed Internet and plenty of WiFi to go around. We met on the second floor, in a few different meeting rooms, and had lunch and snacks in the cafeteria.
