The Internet can be a valuable
tool for Catholic education and evangelization, and its proper use
should be encouraged in seminaries as well as other church institutions,
Pope Benedict XVI said.
"Internet, with its capacity to reach across distances and put people in
contact, offers great possibilities for the church and her mission,"
the pope said in an address to members of the Congregation for Catholic
Education holding their plenary meeting at the Vatican Feb. 7-9.
The pope said the congregation was working on a document titled
"Internet and Formation in Seminaries," but did not say when it would be
published.
When used with caution and discernment, the pope said, the Internet can
be useful for future priests not only for studying, but for pastoral
work in areas of evangelization, missionary action, catechism,
educational projects and administration of various institutions.
The church will therefore need well-prepared teachers to keep the
seminarians up to date on the "correct and positive" use of information
technology, he said.
Addressing congregation members, the pope said the education and
formation of future priests in seminaries is "one of the most urgent
challenges" of the church today because of the culture of relativism
dominant in contemporary society.
"For this reason, the service performed by so many formation
institutions in the world that are inspired by the Christian vision of
man and reality is so important today," the pope said.
The seminary is one of the most important institutions of the church and
requires a thorough program that takes into account the context in
which they exist today, he said.
"Many times I have said that the seminary is a precious phase of life,
in which the candidate for priesthood has the experience of being 'a
disciple of God,'" he said.
The pope has made recent references to the potential -- and the dangers
-- offered by new media technology. Last month in a message for the
upcoming World Communications Day he said, "this means of spreading
information and knowledge is giving birth to a new way of learning and
thinking, with unprecedented opportunities for establishing
relationships and building fellowship."
He encouraged the use of social media such as Facebook as a means of
spreading the Christian message, but warned of the dangers of
substituting human relationships with virtual contacts.