WASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 18, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will discuss the challenges and opportunities of communication in the digital in the upcoming General Assembly in November.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., chairman of the Doctrine Committee of the USCCB is set to present the document “Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities for the Exercise of the teaching Ministry of the Diocesan Bishop,” which will be voted by the assembly of bishops.
According to a press release by the USCCB, the statement will cite several challenges presented by the “quantum leap” in the speed of communications since the invention of the Internet. “It demands that bishops “be able to respond immediately when Church teaching is challenged or misrepresented,” the statement read.
“The bishops also face the challenge that amidst many voices in the digital world ‘a bishop’s voice on the Internet can appear to be just another in the competition for attention’ requiring bishops to explain to people the nature of their authority.”
The document, however, also points to new opportunities that can either hurt or help bishops in communicating with the faithful. “They create new difficulties for bishops in the exercise of their teaching office” yet “they also offer powerful new tools for more effective ministry,” the document states.
