The Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice Foundation celebrated their 25th anniversary with an international conference on New Politics and Life-Styles in the Digital Age.
Professors, philosophers and company directors came from around the world to discuss how to apply Catholic Social Teaching to the world, and to families in particular, in the midst of the digital era.
DOMINGO SUGRANYES BICKEL
President, Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice
“The type of communication which is available to young people in the family, and to older people, is also new. It offers possibilities and dangers, so that's obviously something parents have to learn about and dialogue with children.”
SILVIA FARGION
Professor, Trento University
“The new digital era puts the parents in the position of having to take hundred of decisions everyday in things that they don't know. This is something that is really challenging. So to decide all the time – they don't have models – they have to think about and try to understand and work out what to say to their children.”
FR. LUIS DE LEZAMA
Founder of the Lezama Foundation
'We have to consider that when a child is born now, it's not a boy or girl; it is 'digital.' So, that digital child already has and brings with him an entire alphabet in a finger, a finger. All the vowels, constants, words and literature are contained there. It is an image. So the education of this child must take into consideration that it is digital.”
In addition to the cultural aspects, the conference touched on the Church's role in all of it. While society is continuing to adapt and learn, so must the 2,000-year-old Catholic Church.
DOMINGO SUGRANYES BICKEL
President, Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice
“I think the Church also has to learn about how to use the media, the new media and also how to adapt the language to the new context. Sometimes there is a thread lacking from one motion to another one. So that's where I think the Church has to do some homework about really learning how to use the media in a way that helps to transmit the message.”
The digital world must continue to be explored and understood by everyone, from companies to parents and even the Church. That way, the dangers online can be eliminated and the vast online world can be harnessed for good.
