Window to Truth

Asked for his thoughts on Pope John Paul II’s 2002 letter on Proclaiming the Gospel on the Internet, Father Straub replied: “I have studied the letter very, very carefully. I had to absorb it into my soul, make it my own. The Holy Father is connecting this intimately to an act of evangelization prompted by the Holy Spirit. He writes that we must act with full conviction of truth. Everything we do on the Internet has to be done with conviction. We have to learn how to speak on the Internet.

I am impressed by this question the Holy Father asks: ‘Will the face of Christ be seen and the voice of Christ be heard?’ The whole letter is very, very good, but I keep coming back to these words. I have been meditating upon them. He is asking us. It is up to us to do it. The Web site has to answer this question: ‘Will the face of Christ be seen and the voice of Christ be heard?’

The voice of Christ. What are the words of Christ? I think of three quotes. ‘Come to Me, all ye who are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest...I am the Truth...Come follow Me.’… For the person who has no practical contact with Christ, hasn’t heard of him --and is afraid to even try-- feeling empty, abandoned as so many millions do....’Come to me all who are heavy burdened...I am the Truth...Come follow Me.’

Our Internet site should be an integral presentation of the glad tidings of our redemption. This is what evangelization is all about...We must attempt, little by little, or in segments, an integral presentation of the whole Gospel...present as much as we can, and give them access to other presentations, a full catechismal presentation. This clearly should be our aim. We should reflect on the subject, the concept of integral presentation. We have to come as close as we can, in detail. We must be ready to answer truthfully questions that will arise. And to enter peaceably any conflict that may arise.

I’m impressed by these words in his letter: the new technology ‘if used with competence’....We cannot take for granted that we are competent. We must be very purposeful, very thoughtful. If we are not thoughtful, we’re not allowed to do anything.

The Holy Father has written that the Internet is most likely to be something initial, stirring an interest, an initial contact. He is speaking of personal witness. It has to be very personal, as human, as direct as possible. We must bring the people to the Table. We should try to help the non-Catholic person to search out a Catholic person to take them to Mass. Everything we do --writing on the Internet, presentations on the Internet-- must be done with a high level of competence. The conclusion must lead to the Holy Table.

The letter states, Can the Internet serve the cause of peace? John Paul II writes, ‘The Church believes it can...’ The Church uses the word ‘believe’ very deliberately...’The Church believes it can’…

Again, he writes, ‘...from this Galaxy of Sight and Sound, will the face of Christ be seen and the voice of Christ be heard?’....he writes that for many people, especially the young, the Internet is their ‘window to the world’....Window to the World...Window to Truth...this is our evangelical mission in cyberspace.