Msgr Ruiz on the Pope, the Church and the digital divide
(Vatican Radio) What is the contribution that Pope Francis is offering the “inhabitants” of social networks? What challenges does the digital culture pose to the Church – and what challenges does the Church pose to digital culture? These were just a few of the topics covered in a wide-ranging interview with Msgr. Lucio Adrian Ruiz, who manages the office of the Vatican Internet Service and serves as Secretary to the Secretariat for Communications, established by the Pope in late June.
Click below to hear our report
Msgr. Ruiz told us that the fundamental point is dialogue: there must be dialogue among people, and Pope Francis seeks to use and to highlight the usefulness of technology as a facilitator of authentic dialogue. “Do not be afraid of new technologies and ways to say the same thing that the Church has ever said throughout history,” he said. Msgr. Ruiz went on to say, “The Church has always accompanied culture and used great cultural phenomena to transmit the Gospel, to transmit the person of Jesus, to generate an encounter of the person with the Lord.”
“For our part, then, the challenge is that of being able to grasp the ‘[digital] reality’,” in a way that bridges the digital divide. “This,” said Msgr Ruiz, is the invitation: to seize the cultural challenge and live it.”