On May 2nd, the day after Pope John Paul II’s beatification, the Vatican held a meeting with 150 bloggers to “allow for a dialogue between bloggers and Church representatives, to listen to the experiences of those who are actively involved in this arena, and to achieve a greater understanding of the needs of that community” and “allow for a presentation of some of the initiatives to engage with new media practitioners being taken by the Church, both in Rome and at the local level. ”   The meeting was quite timely, as Pope John Paul II took a special interest in the medium of the Internet and the opportunities it provided for evangelization of the Gospel message and community amongst Catholics once saying “The question confronting the Church today is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message, but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the Gospel message.”

After a few days to reflect upon the Vatican Blogger’s Meeting, I want to share some of the details on the meeting and my thoughts on the proceedings.  I will begin by saying that I greatly admire the initiative that the Church hierarchy has taken in approaching the online community in this way. The Vatican is in a unique position to reach and organize such a group and this meeting is something that we in the blogging community could only have desired in our wildest dreams. I want to make sure that the appreciation and utmost respect I have for everyone involved in organizing and speaking on the panels at the event are properly understood, and that any criticism expressed is meant to be wholly constructive. Criticism in this area, as I am sure the organizers and participants in the meeting would agree, is a necessary step in the further development of the relationship between the Church and the ever -emerging powerful new media shaping our cultures.

Archbishop Claudio Celli being interviewed before the meeting (courtesy of intermirifica.net)

The meeting began with an introduction by Archbishop Claudio Celi, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.  He described the purpose of the meeting as a chance for bloggers and the Catholic hierarchy to gain a more in depth understanding and knowledge of one another. He stressed the need for a dialogue between the two groups, based in a mutual respect. He, along with other Church officials, stressed that the meeting was not for Catholics only (although I am unsure if any non-Catholics were in attendance.)

Richard Rouse of the Pontifical Council on Culture and lead organizer of the event came next, and mostly echoed the same sentiments. He furthered the expression of the Archbishops themes and gave further explanation on what the meeting was not intended to be. It was not about the theological challenges of blogging. It was not a stage for setting a moral code for bloggers. It was not a seminar on effective blogging. It was not, again, a meeting for Catholic bloggers. After learning quite a bit about what this meeting was not, I was left with a desire to find out exactly what it was. This question continued throughout the affair and I will come back to it again.

The first of the bloggers to speak was Rocco Palmo, writer of Whispers of the Loggia. He started off with a well-deserved “thank you” to the organizers of the meeting, which received applause from the crowd. He was the first to mention the driving force of faith that led myself, and I’m imagining most or all of the other 150, to attend the meeting but more importantly to begin blogging in the first place. He described the transformative effect that faith is already having, and potentially has to an even greater degree, on the face of the Church. As the younger generation of Catholics grows and matures, we are there with them, as coworkers in the building up of the Church that Christ entrusted first to the leaders of the Church, the Apostles and their successors, but to the rest of the faithful as well saying, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:20.)

I think that this idea, of bloggers being members of the body of Christ, was lacking in the introductions, and was happy to see Rocco bring to the table what I feel should have been an essential concept to the meeting. The idea that the meeting was for people who blog and the leaders of the Church to interact with these people somehow outside of their identity as members of the Body of Christ was somewhat misplaced. I agree that non-Catholics are more than welcome to join in on the conversation and that the role of even a Catholic blog can reach further than a traditional idea of instruction in the faith, but the core of our role, by Christ’s own call echoed by Peter to witness to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you (1Pet 3:15,) bloggers included.  Fr. Roderick, another speaker on the panel, delved even further into this core concept, which I will mention again as I reflect upon his comments. Mr. Palmo understands the idea that blogging is not something separate from other apostolate, but that the gifts being used in the realm of blogging are from the same Spirit (1Cor 12:4.)  

Next to speak was  journalist Andres Beltramo, author of the blog Sacro y Prafano. He discussed the opportunity of bloggers to delve deeper into topics than the traditional media has the ability to do. As a journalist, he said, he feels that he is not able to give certain stories the full attention and time that he feels they deserve. On his blog, he is able to take as much time as he wants on any one topic and use the Internet’s ability to provide an unlimited amount of information. He said that he feels the Church should be a significant player in the world of information, and that they have a message that needs to be passed on. He feels that the Church needs to be viewed as a source of information, and this is the direction the Church needs to take online.

I agree that the information that is contained within and always developing in the Church needs a necessary outlet. I am not sure how Mr. Beltramo thinks the dissemination of this information should come about, but I think that if the Church, from a hierarchical standpoint, gets more involved online, the voice of that information is going to sound quite similar to the current status: an official blog will be much more akin to an official newspaper than an unofficial and personal blog. This is not to say, however, that Church shouldn’t get involved in an official method of online information distribution. Such a method would allow for quicker access and rather than replace the individuals currently working on blogs, it will strengthen their ability to find both topics and sources for analysis. Later on in the meeting, the 2nd panel showed a preview of the Vatican’s take on what that official channel might look like and how it might operate.

After Andres came Elizabeth Scalia, known as The Anchores, head of the Catholic portal at patheos.com.  She started off with praise of John Paul II’s ability to use the media almost like an actor.  She said that Pope Benedict has been more willing to recognize social media than many had expected when his pontificate began.  She talked about the pope’s desire for use to use the media for Catholic clarity, which bloggers had been doing when misrepresentations of the Church and Church teachings came up in the traditional media.  She said that for this clarity that the Church is asking for, we need to use charity, and approach even misrepresentations from a place of Christian Love.  I think this is another point that was missed or glossed over a bit too much in the meeting, as was glad to hear Elizabeth bring it up.

She talked also about two major dangers of the internet.  For us as bloggers, she mentioned the expansive freedom that is both a gift and a temptation for egos.  She said the blogging world can be a battleground for the spirit, and that we must remember to blog with the purpose of informing others, not feeding our own egos.  She also mentioned the temptation the internet gives many to feel a sense of normalcy in perversions.  There is no end to the ability to go deeper and deeper into any desired sin, and the availability of material and other people seeking the same gives the impression that sin is normal and proper.  She ended with comments directed to the Church hierarchy.  She advised that we need the clergy to remind us of the wideness in God’s mercy and the call to unity and oneness we have as Catholics.  She advised that any conformity the Vatican requests must begin from a place of freedom, because Christ died freely.  This idea of freedom of expression and thought is one that many of the bloggers seemed concerned with.  They wanted to make sure that the Vatican was not trying to shut down their ability to use the internet as a free place of ideas and discussion.

After The Anchoress was Mattia Marasco, author of a few blogs found at http://www.mattiamarasco.it/i-miei-blog/.  He seemed to be the most suited to the Vatican’s idea that the meeting was not merely for Catholic bloggers, as he blogs about a wide range of topics.  He talked far less than most of the others, and mostly hit on a theme that the Church needs to be more involved online and have a larger presence.  He said that the Church is more “daring” in other areas of culture, and called them to have that same approach in the online world.  I am not quite sure what he meant by “daring” and there may have been a translation issue as he was speaking Italian.  He seemed to be saying that the Church should take more official positions on things, such as they have done with the right to life, regardless of the opposition some groups have.  I think that with this meeting, as the hierarchy of the Church described a desire to have a larger online presence, Mattia will begin to see more of what he wants.

The fourth panelist was Fr. Roderick Vonhögen, who works with SQPN.  He started out with a quick blogging biography, telling the story of his introduction to blogging.  He said he started after being ordained a priest, in a small dutch village.  He blogged initially about an interest of his, the Star Wars movies.  He discovered the power of blogging to reach many throughout the world when he started getting thousands of visitors per day.  He felt that he would be able to share his faith via the internet, a desire he had long had but was unable to find a way to get those uninterested in religion to listen.  He talked about the building of the Church family based on a sense of community and mutual interests.

Fr. Roderick’s approach is a very interesting and refreshing one to see.  When you visit SQPN you see a variety of topics, and some that don’t appear to be necessarily related to the Church.  There are posts about podcasts, iPhone apps, and as Fr. Roderick discussed at the meeting, the online game of Farmville.  He discussed the thought behind talking about these topics.  He said that as Jesus asked his disciples to be fishers of men (Mt 4:19) we must be proper fishermen and use attractive bait.  He said that as millions were playing Farmville, he saw it as an opportunity to draw people into an positive experience with the Church.  When someone clicked to watch the video of farming tips, they saw a Catholic priest giving them the tips.  Thus, those with negative associations of the Church begin to have more positive associations, and find that they are able to relate to the Church.  As Father makes these personal connections, he is able to present the Gospel to listeners who already appreciate his role in their lives.

The final presenter was Francois Jeanne-Beylot of http://fjb.blogs.com/.  He talked too about his entry into blogging, not on a Catholic subject, but on communication and information providing.  He said the internet became a way for him to get his Catholic views heard.  He said that in France, as in many other places, the press gives a negative view of the Church.  He said that Catholics become upset, but feel that they have no recourse.  He said the internet is the tool we can use to give a counterbalancing viewpoint.  He has noticed a change in the image the Church has in France, which he largely attributed to the blogging world.  He said that as we blog, we take away the idea that the Catholic Church is aging and dying; we show that it is ever-new and living.  I agree with this idea and feel that we as bloggers and Catholic readers of blogs can use the internet to show the world that there is an alternative to the secularization of society and that young people do not have to feel that the Church is not there for them.  Through our posts and comments on blogs and stories we can share our vision for a Church filled with enthusiasm and Love.

A shot of the first panel (courtesy of intermirifica.net)

After the first panel we had a break and then moved onto the second panel of Church hierarchy members and those showing us the Church’s view for moving forward in the digital age.  We were again told that the Vatican wishes to increase familiarity between themselves and the blogging world.  Fr. Frederico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, took floor first.  He said that the blogging world interested him with its feeling of intense personal communication, which was a different approach than he was used to taking as a member of an institution.  He said that the Vatican was interested in opening a dialog based in mutual respect.  He talked about the Pope’s willingness to embrace social media and use texting, youtube, and question and answer format video to promote the Church’s message.  He said that although the Pope was not present, the meeting and its goals were close to his heart.

At this point I’m going to take a slightly different approach and not go through the panel members one by one.  The reason for this is that the second panel, barring two presenters, seemed to have a lot less to say.  Their time was spent saying mostly the same points that I’ve already mentioned without going into any further depth.  As I stated in the beginning, I was left with a feeling of wonder at what the whole point of the meeting really was.  We were told it was to open a dialog, but the timetable they set up really did not allow for it.  I think the meeting would have worked much better if an entire day was devoted to it, and the panels were split between morning and afternoon.  This would have allowed for much more time to answer questions.  After the first panel some questions were answered, but many were not really related to blogging within the Church, especially the long discussion had on copyright issues brought up by larger news outlets.  The second panel gave non-answers to the first couple questions, and then began taking questions without answering them, saying the time did not allow for answers, but the topics could be discussed later.  If they are discussed at a later point or not shall remain to be seen, but I think a little bit of foresight should have been employed and like I said the meeting made longer, or if that was not an option, limiting the amount of time speakers took up.

Again, the criticism here is meant to be constructive and as this was the first meeting of this kind there is certainly some leniency that the critic should grant, but this second panel seemed to miss quite a few opportunities that were along the lines of what they had originally requested of the bloggers.  When asked when the next bloggers meeting would be, there was no answer, despite the fact that we already know of the large number of Catholics that will be gathered in Madrid for World Youth Day.  When asked about blogger access to early information regarding Church statements and documents, no real answer was given.  When discussing the problems with Church approval of blogs, there was no alternative given.  It seemed like all the questions we came with remained and we are left figuring them out ourselves.  My main desire going into the meeting was for the Church to be able to resolve the issue of being able to lend some of their authority to ideas they want to promote while being cautious of the changeability of a blog.  Obviously a blog cannot be given an Imprimatur like a book because a blog can always be changed, but I would like to see something developed along the lines of a list of issues a blog can sign up as agreeing with.  The problem as I see it, is that anyone can slap the name Catholic on a blog and it is completely left up to the readers to decide on the orthodoxy of a blog with no help from the official Church leaders.

I did say “barring two” so I want to end on two very positive notes.  The first is the Vatican’s announcement by of a new “web portal” that would bring together a variety of online Church elements into one source.  My apologies to the presenter, because I forget exactly who it was that showed us this.  The preliminary showing of what this portal would look like is promising, especially considering the almost unnavigable state of the Vatican’s current official site.  The idea that the various statements and news publishings of the Church will be in one spot is exciting and will likely help the blogging community greatly.  I hope that the Vatican realizes the role of blogs will likely be furthered rather than diminished as bloggers pick up the slack in analyzing and explaining often difficult to discern Church documents.  This idea of a news portal will have the twofold effect of giving them the presence they are searching for and increasing the familiarity and communication between themselves and the online Catholic Community.

Eva Janosikova, a community manager for World Youth Day 2011 (courtesy of intermirifica.net)

While the web portal showed the potential in the future, another presenter showed the actualization of what is being done today.  Eva Janosikova, a community manager for World Youth Day 2011, showed how she and other organizers of World Youth Day are using the internet and social media to promote the event and get young people involved and excited about their Church.  She showed us their Facebook page and a picture there of Pope Benedict made up of pictures that the Facebook fans were asked to send in.  She discussed the opportunities they had given for people to ask questions and get video answers.  A lot of what we had discussed as possibilities in the meeting were already being realized by the people handling World Youth day, which was great to see.

All in all, I think that the meeting was a great first step on the part of the Vatican to engage a group of communicators that will be vital in their going forward in an age when digital communication will only continue to grow.  When I say “first step” it is in hopes that there are many more to come, and a real sense of dialog can come about.  We are living in a time in which the Church has a large number of people excited about their faith and have the drive and know-how to get the Gospel message out in a really revolutionary way.  I pray that the officials within the Church realize what an opportunity they have with this group, and with God’s grace take the chance to grab onto it and use it appropriately.

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