"Communications: The Church Enters the Internet Age"

"An interview with CCEE Secretary General Father Duarte de Cunha....

"... on the conference held recently at the Vatican on the new internet technologies (Facebook, Google, etc.)"


This snippet is adapted from Inside the Vatican magazine, January 2010. Interview by Viktoria Somogyi.


Question of Father de Cunha:


"What did participants in the conference learn from the Facebook, You Tube and Wikipedia advisors?"


Father de Cunha's initial response:


"Representatives of social networks and the so - called Web 2.0, i. e., the interactive Internet, participated in the conference held at the Vatican by the European Bishops' Conference for the Media (CEEM).

"What impressed us most was the number of people connected by these social networks.

"The Internet is no longer just an instrument used to convey messages, but is also used to bring people together.

"Considering the implications of this technology, it is normal for us to have mixed feelings of fear and discontentment, but also enthusiasm.

"But since we started to look at the Internet through the eyes of faith, we have been questioning ourselves about its effects.

"Can social networks replace our communities, since none of us can be satisfied with purely virtual relationships?

"We need real relationships..."

Way to go, Padre! :)