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Bogota (Agenzia Fides) – The XI Continental Encounter of the Information Network if the Church in Latin America has finally concluded, offering guidelines to continue promoting RIIAL's spirit.
“As Bishop and on behalf of the entire Church, I thank you for your work and dedication,” Bishop Guillermo Ortiz Mondragon, Head of the RIIAL in the Latin American Bishops' Council (CELAM), told participants at the close of the encounter. During the meeting, they reviewed various guidelines in support of the Continental Mission, which all the dioceses on the continent have launched following the encounter held in Aparecida. Some of them included: reflect on and spread the RIIAL spirituality, which is ecclesial and Marian, promoting an encounter with Christ alive in His Church; Continue the work of networking Bishops' Conferences and Dioceses, for an improved communication and communion; Design digital services for communication among Bishops and support for their pastoral work; Promote initiatives for formation on all levels, in the use of new media and media styles; Improve the quality of Catholic websites; Promote joint campaigns on specific interest topics for the Church.
During the Closing Session, there was also a reflection given by the 4 Commissions, on four jey themes for the projection of the TIC (Information and Communication Technologies) in the Church in Latin America: Services to the Bishops, Digital Culture, Training and Research; Policies of Communication.
In regards to services to the Bishops, the reflection focused on improving ways, forms, and processes, so as to give potential to the technology project for communications that was presented by the multi-national company from Spain “Telefonica,” for the Bishops of the continent.
There is a need for a process of animation, training, and research from within the Church's communications offices, in accord with the situation of each country, finding the means to carry out great technological projects.
The Digital Culture was addressed from the perspective of inculturation – relationship between faith and cultures, which the Church hopes to transmit in this digital culture, to announce Christ. They also reflected on the characteristics of the digital culture and the attitude of the Church when it comes time to build relationships with this new culture.
As for training and research, the commission showed that there should be a cultivation of the networks that exist, creating human networks so that the pastoral agents learn to use the technology.
As for what concerns communications policies, the respective commission insisted on the need to work so that communications can be seen as the 'hinge' on which all the Church's actions move, creating communications policies that allow the RIIAL to develop processes of convocation and immersion, from the convergence of media.
In this encounter, there was also a meeting held with the leaders of RIIAL, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, the representatives of the CELAM Department of Communication, and the new General Secretary Bishop Leopoldo Gonzalez, Secretary General of the Mexican Bishops' Conference, and Fr. Sidney Fones, Secretary Adjunct of CELAM. In the meeting, the President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications recalled the history of the RIIAL, which has already done so much and now must look forward with the same aspirations that have led it all these years. He also mentioned the need to help Latin American communities to overcome problems linked to social and economic situations.
The RIIAL now has a special support committee, which will also be carrying out several of the above mentioned projects. They will not coordinate, so much as offer transversal services for the Church and society at this time. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 9/6/2009)
