The Church and Technology, Part II

To better understand the Church’s position on technology, let’s turn to a apostolic letter from Pope John Paul II in 2005:

To those working in communication, especially to believers involved in this important field of society, I extend the invitation which, from the beginning of my ministry as Pastor of the Universal Church, I have wished to express to the entire world “Do not be afraid!”

Do not be afraid of new technologies! These rank ‘among the marvelous things’ – inter mirifica – which God has placed at our disposal to discover, to use and to make known the truth, also the truth about our dignity and about our destiny as his children, heirs of his eternal Kingdom. (On the Rapid Development of Technology, To Those Responsible for Communications)

It’s worth noting that the Church has, not surprisingly, been thinking and discussing technology for many decades! John Paul II begins his apostolic letter, quoted above, with a reference to a decree from Vatican II December 4, 1963 Inter Mirifica, in which Pope Paul VI stated:

“Man’s genius has with God’s help produced marvelous technical inventions from creation, especially in our times. The Church, our mother, is particularly interested in those which directly touch man’s spirit and which have opened up new avenues of easy communication of all kinds of news, of ideas and orientations.”

So, we can proceed with confidence into the new frontiers of technology.

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