Religious Taming of the Digital Continent: from John Paul II to Francis The adventures of Pope Francis on the digital continent

  • Tomasz Goban‑Klas State University of New York
Keywords: Church, media, social media, internet, evangelization, Pope Francis, Benedict XVI, John Paul II

Abstract

Today, the Catholic Church skillfully adapts the achievements of mod­ ern communication technologies to support the pastoral ministry. The author of this article shows what attitude towards modern digital tech­ nologies was presented by the last three popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. Each of them, in their own way, formed a dialogue with the faithful, using the digital tools in a conscious and thoughtful way. The Pope’s relationship with the faithful, mediated by modern media, confirms that digital tools, now called the digital age, play an important role in the evangelization of the modern world.

Author Biography

Tomasz Goban‑Klas, State University of New York

A specialist in the theory of communication, theory of media and social communication. Fulbright scholar (1976/1977, Stanford University and the anneberg School of Communication. From 1992 to 1994 he was a professor in the Institute for European Studies in Vienna, in 1998 he held a position of the director of the Polish Academic Informa­ tion Center and was a professor at the State University of New York at Buffa­ lo. From 2002 to 2003 he was a Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Education in Poland, responsible for the higher education and European in­ tegration. His academic work consists of 250 publications, including 15 books. Among them: Media and mass communication (1999), Media and terrorists (2009), Media civilization (2005). Corea. History and contemporary times (2007), Rapid current of media. Towards the new forms of social life of the information (2011).

Published
2017-03-31
How to Cite
[1]
Goban‑Klas, T. 2017. Religious Taming of the Digital Continent: from John Paul II to Francis The adventures of Pope Francis on the digital continent. Perspectives on Culture. 16, 1 (Mar. 2017), 45-56.
Section
Religion and the digital world