India: Blog, Facebook and Twitter, the new frontier for evangelization
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Blogs, Facebook and Twitter are the "new
frontier" to "get in touch with each other," and their "almost
unlimited" extent makes them one of the "best" evangelization tools
today. Fr. Errol
Fernandes, SJ, an expert on digital communications in Mumbai who organizes
retreats online is convinced of this. In
the Year of Faith, for the 47th World Communications Day Benedict XVI has
chosen the theme " Social
Networks: portals of truth and
faith; new spaces for evangelization." A
sign, according to the Jesuit, that the Holy Father " is right on the
mark" of the possibilities offered by new technologies.
Fr. Errol
has a blog (http://errolsj.blogspot.com
), where he posts personal reflections on topical issues, and the relationship
between faith and society today. Every
day, the site receives over 30 thousand visits, in addition to the contacts on his
Facebook and Twitter account. Since 2005, Fr.
Errol
has launched a program called Net Retreat digital, spiritual retreats. "This
experience - he says - has brought together more than 5 thousand people from
all over the world. In today's society, people find it hard to 'go' to the
Lord. So, I thought of a way to reach out to others, wherever they may they
are: on a train, at lunch, or directly in their homes. "
World
Communications Day - the only one established by the Second Vatican Council -
is celebrated on the feast of the Assumption. By
tradition, the pope's message is published on the occasion of the feast of St.
Francis de Sales, patron of writers (January 24).