Éthiopie, Zway. Le père Guillermo Basañes, conseiller pour la Région Afrique-
Madagascar, a visité en avril cette œuvre très complexe. Dans la photo, le père
Basañes avec le groupe d’aspirants salésiens./ Fr. Basañes, of the General Council,
visiting this very complex Salesian work, is pictured here with Salesian aspirants.
Sierra Leone, Freetown. The community of Don Bosco Fambul solemnly celebrated
the feast of St. John Bosco with a huge number of street boys and girls. / Les enfants
de la rue célèbrent la fête de Don Bosco Après l’eucharistie, le diner fut servi à plus
de 300 enfants de la rue et une centaine de leur staff.
enable the infinite richness of the Gospel to find forms of ex-
pression capable of reaching the minds and hearts of all. In
the digital environment the written word is often accompanied
by images and sounds. Effective communication, as in the
parables of Jesus, must involve the imagination and the affec-
tivity of those we wish to invite to an encounter with the mys-
tery of God’s love. Besides, we know that Christian tradition
has always been rich in signs and symbols: I think for example
of the Cross, icons, images of the Virgin Mary, Christmas
cribs, stained-glass windows and pictures in our churches. A
significant part of mankind’s artistic heritage has been created
by artists and musicians who sought to express the truths of
the faith.
In social networks, believers show their authenticity
by sharing the profound source of their hope and joy: faith
in the merciful and loving God revealed in Christ Jesus. This
sharing consists not only in the explicit expression of their
faith, but also in their witness, in the way in which they com-
municate «choices, preferences and judgements that are fully
consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of spe-
cifically» (Message for the 2011World Communications Day).
A particularly significant way of offering such witness will be
through a willingness to give oneself to others by patiently and
respectfully engaging their questions and their doubts as they
advance in their search for the truth and the meaning of human
existence. The growing dialogue in social networks about faith
and belief confirms the importance and relevance of religion in
public debate and in the life of society.
For those who have accepted the gift of faith with an
open heart, the most radical response to mankind’s questions
about love, truth and the meaning of life – questions certainly
not absent from social networks – are found in the person of
Jesus Christ. It is natural for those who have faith to desire
to share it, respectfully and tactfully, with those they meet in
the digital forum. Ultimately, however, if our efforts to share
the Gospel bring forth good fruit, it is always because of the
power of the word of God itself to touch hearts, prior to any of
our own efforts. Trust in the power of God’s work must always
be greater than any confidence we place in human means. In
the digital environment, too, where it is easy for heated and
divisive voices to be raised and where sensationalism can at
times prevail, we are called to attentive discernment. Let us
recall in this regard that Elijah recognized the voice of God not
in the great and strong wind, not in the earthquake or the fire,
but in «a still, small voice» (1 Kg 19:11-12). We need to trust
in the fact that the basic human desire to love and to be loved,
and to find meaning and truth – a desire which God himself
has placed in the heart of every man and woman – keeps our
contemporaries ever open to what Blessed Cardinal Newman
called the «kindly light» of faith.
Social networks, as well as being a means of evan-
gelization, can also be a factor in human development. As an
example, in some geographical and cultural contexts where
Christians feel isolated, social networks can reinforce their
sense of real unity with the worldwide community of belie-
vers. The networks facilitate the sharing of spiritual and litur-
gical resources, helping people to pray with a greater sense of
closeness to those who share the same faith. An authentic and
interactive engagement with the questions and the doubts of
those who are distant from the faith should make us feel the
need to nourish, by prayer and reflection, our faith in the pres-
ence of God as well as our practical charity: «If I speak in the
tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal» (1 Cor 13:1).
In the digital world there are social networks which
offer our contemporaries opportunities for prayer, meditation
and sharing the word of God. But these networks can also
open the door to other dimensions of faith. Many people are
actually discovering, precisely thanks to a contact initially
made online, the importance of direct encounters, experiences
of community and even pilgrimage, elements which are
always important in the journey of faith. In our effort to make
the Gospel present in the digital world, we can invite people to
come together for prayer or liturgical celebrations in specific
places such as churches and chapels. There should be no lack
of coherence or unity in the expression of our faith and witness
to the Gospel in whatever reality we are called to live, whether
physical or digital. When we are present to others, in any way
at all, we are called to make known the love of God to the
furthest ends of the earth.
I pray that God’s Spirit will accompany you and en-
lighten you always, and I cordially impart my blessing to all of
you, that you may be true heralds and witnesses of the Gospel.
«Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole
creation» (Mk 16:15).
From the Vatican, 24 January 2013, Feast of Saint
Francis de Sales.
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
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