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.
VATICAN CITY (CNS)