Volume 31 of the Council Notebooks, written by Fabio Marchese Ragona, a journalist and Vatican affairs correspondent, shines a spotlight on a highly topical issue and shows how the conciliar documents were already fully aware of it. Indeed, «among the “most urgent problems” addressed by the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, Part II contains an entire chapter devoted to the “Promotion of culture”. This was included among the major contemporary concerns that the Council Fathers decided to explore in depth. They did so for two reasons: on the one hand, to offer the Christian world and beyond a light, a compass for looking toward the future. On the other, to draw attention to certain issues of general interest, including, precisely, human culture».
Culture and faith: a fruitful dialogue
The Council Fathers first clarify the importance of dialogue between faith and culture: culture is presented as «a tool that enables humanity to progress and increase its knowledge in every field. It also brings us closer to beauty and to the values of goodness and truth».
These words were echoed today by Pope Francis, who has had several occasions to emphasize the role of culture and God's work within it: «God is at work in every person's life and in culture: the Spirit blows where it wills». It is therefore important to rediscover the connection that may exist between these two dimensions, while reaffirming the absolute autonomy of faith from culture.
The digital challenge
Although emphasizing the relevance of the topic, the Author is obviously aware that today’s society is profoundly different from the one addressed by Gaudium et Spes, especially with regard to a dimension that was unknown at the time: the digital dimension: «Today we live immersed in a digital culture, a new domain that, while fostering the emergence of social relationships, albeit at a distance, and shortening the distances between the inhabitants of the world, very often also increasingly distances people from interpersonal contact, encouraging situations of loneliness and distress. In the age of social networks and communications mediated by mobile devices, the risk is paradoxically becoming increasingly antisocial: culture itself suffers as a result, because in the absence of sound education and a healthy approach to new technologies, human beings seem almost to regress, ignoring the basic principles of ethics and morality while hiding behind a monitor or a keyboard».
There are risks, then, but the Church cannot fail to take up this challenge and must therefore find a way to proclaim the Gospel from here as well, including by using these “virtual squares”.
In this sense, it becomes important to rethink strategies and language in order to reach this new society and bring it the message of Christ, who saves.
The Church does not hold back, and we must not forget that the Church is also us: we are called to live in the world while bringing a message from heaven!
