When Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI would have his own YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/vaticanit), some skeptics were stunned, to say the least. It was not too long ago when Archbishop David Hope said in an interview that computer "wizardry" was in danger of creating a "society without a soul". The Archbishop of York continued by saying that "this technology is something that could ultimately devour us." It was a stern warning coming from a servant of God. And it looks like he hit the right target. And the trend continues to be so.
INTERNET AS EVIL
But whether or not the internet has the potential to destroy society is debatable in nature. For one, internet has brought convenience to a lot of us. Shopping is made easy. Reaching out with relatives abroad and communicating with them via video or voice calls are no longer a big issue. Acquiring knowledge has become more accessible. These are just few of the many reasons why internet and computer technology has made our lives more convenient than what we had three decades ago.
Archbishop David Hope
(Photo courtesy of www.walsinghamanglicanarchives.org.uk)
But mankind tends to abuse and manipulate this seemingly fast evolution of technology. And today, the internet has become a repository of immoral and evil things… a virtual world where sex and prostitution abound. We see a lot of people consumed by greed and carnal desire populating this society. That’s why Archbishop Hope qualifies his statement by saying, "like all these developments, there is that which has the potential for good, and that which has the potential for evil. There is in the internet the potential for destroying ourselves.”
THE CHOICE IS OURS
In essence, this whole story teaches that we all have a choice. Whether we go for the bad side or good side of it, the choice is absolutely ours. And so we can always use the internet in achieving something good, instead of utilizing its sophistication and use it as a tool in spreading evil deeds. In the case of the Roman Catholic Church going into the Youtube in order to reach out to her faithful devotees around the world for them to hear the word of God is such an outstanding undertaking. Other religious sects have long been using the internet in spreading the gospel of God. Even Satanists and atheists do the same, too for their followers.
WORTHY UNDERTAKING
The Vatican could have done that long time ago. Youtube, without any single doubt, is a very popular website with respect to video viewing. And this will open the door to all people around the world to see what’s going on at the Vatican, the Pope, and everything that the Church teaches about God. Not each one of us gets a chance to get there in that far away place and seek audience with Pope Benedict XVI when he celebrates a Holy Mass at the Vatican. Only those Catholic people living in the upper class of society can spend thousands of dollars and travel to pay homage to the Pope. Just like our Muslim brothers going into Mecca during Ramadan in order to fulfill their religious obligations. Catholic Christians do feel that going there at the center of Catholicism will bring us closer to our faith and strengthen our devotion to God. And the Pope’s presence on You tube will make it a valuable substitute – something that even non-Catholic Christians might be looking forward to see.
THE SHEEP AMONG LIONS
Preaching the word of God on internet is like fishing in shark-infested waters. You are in a place where you are stuck along with evil-doers: those who propagate sex most specially, and a lot more. Although we have this not-so-popular myth about the internet to be an evil thing, the presumption still goes that somehow you are preaching inside the ‘house’ of the devil. However, it is highly ridiculous for someone to submit himself into that kind of idea. Rather, it is a healthy exercise of religious freedom in the light of technological sophistication that we have today. While tainted with so much immorality, the internet has been an equally effective medium, or even more, compared to that of the conventional ways of communicating the word of God using books, leaflets, booklets, TV, and radio. But its being accessible to everyone bares its own downside. As previously noted, the internet perhaps contains most of the dark side of humanity than its supposed good side. There you see explicit contents like nude images and foul languages that bespeak evil. Infusing spiritual substance into this realm may outrightly collide against the weight of enormous wickedness. Can it stand its ground and thrive amid these impurities? Is the supposed audience of the Pope will not waver and give in to the call of lust and sweet whisper of temptation while browsing the internet in the process of getting there on Youtube? Will they be good enough to the devil and shy away from the light? If you are one of them, then you deprive yourself of hearing the good news that the Pope may tell you on Youtube.
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