CCCB
launches interactive website for new evangelization
By Deborah Gyapong
Canadian
Catholic News
OTTAWA (CCN) — Canada’s Catholic bishops have launched a
new, interactive website, using the latest online tools to spread the
Good News.
Launched May 14, it includes video, a group bishops’ blog and
opportunities for visitors to leave comments — even controversial
or critical ones.
“It shows our commitment
to make this a vibrant vehicle of engagement, of interaction with our
people with the end goal of evangelization,” said Canadian Conference
of Catholic Bishops vice-president Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith
in a telephone interview. “I think it’s important for us
to know what people are thinking and what their questions are.”
One of the new blog posts
came from Quebec Archbishop Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who was the brunt
of many negative media attacks for recent interventions on abortion.
“I think it’s
time that we circle the wagons a bit,” said one anonymous commenter.
“Cardinal Ouellet is being eaten alive by the sharks, and we don’t
hear a lot of episcopal support.”
Smith said there was no question
bishops across the country supported Ouellet, because he was merely
repeating what the church has always taught, but the comment could be
helpful.
“If we get a comment
back from someone who says why aren’t the bishops supporting the
cardinal, then that at least makes me think, do I need to do more to
communicate clearly to everybody that of course the bishops are united
on this and united with the cardinal.”
Smith is also aware the sexual
abuse issue could end up discussed in the comments section.
“We do not and cannot
run from that issue,” he said. “People need to talk about
it. In the past a culture of silence has allowed this scourge to fester.
We need to talk.”
He hopes the interactive
approach will appeal to young people who already spend a lot of time
on social media. And the site will also have options for downloading
to mobile devices, for busy Catholics on the go.
Though the cccb.ca site was
due for a routine upgrade, the bishops decided to ensure that it responded
to Pope Benedict’s 44th World Communications Day call to “make
astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications.”
“The bishops of Canada
have answered the call,” says CCCB president Saint-Jerome Bishop
Pierre Morissette in a video on the site.
Smith, who chairs the CCCB’s
communications standing committee, said the site is also meant to provide
state of the art tools for the media, so they too can learn about the
role of bishops and their relationship to the conference.
“Sometimes we find
ourselves in situations where the media might not fully understand the
governing structure of the church,” he said.
Its structure is “entirely
unique,” he said, citing the autonomous role of bishops in their
dioceses and how the conference plays only a supportive role in helping
the bishops relate to one another. He hopes the information on the website
will prevent misunderstanding of the governing structure.
The more the bishops hear
from the media and from the people through the questions they pose,
the more they get “helpful insights into what the pulse of the
land is,” and what people are thinking, the archbishop said.
Smith began his own personal
blog a few weeks ago that will appear at least once a week. He will
offer reflections on sacred Scripture, but it will also give him a chance
to respond immediately should issues arise in his diocese. He says people
are already teasing him about being “the blogging archbishop.”
In a recent post, he writes
about an encounter he and eight priests had with a large black bear
on the golf course. The animal kept coming closer, forcing the priests
to run for the golf carts.
“It was clear to me
then that the tried and true measures of bear removal were not working,
and that drastic measures were needed,” Smith writes. “When
the bear came to within 10 feet of the cart, and acting on a sudden
inspiration, I quietly leaned forward and invited him to serve as a
member of the Council of Priests.”
“That did the trick.
The bear ran away more quickly than I could have imagined possible and
we were out of all danger,” he said.
Ottawa Archbishop Terrence
Prendergast’s daily blog Journey of a Bishop is also now available
through the cccb.ca site. Other bishops can be expected to join the
roster. Smith said that bishops’ blogs mainly speak to their own
people, but may interest those in other parts of Canada, too.
Does Smith have any worries blogging could become addictive? He laughed. “I don’t have time for it to become addictive!”
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