Archbishop Vigneron releases new Pastoral Note on using digital communications to ‘encounter Christ and experience the beauty of truth’

June 14, 2021 — Archbishop of Detroit Allen H. Vigneron has released a new Pastoral Note in which he offers guidance on how to effectively use digital communications to share the Gospel with enthusiasm while avoiding problematic media that “harm the cause of truth and the good of the human soul.”

The new note, called The Beauty of Truth, was released Friday, June 11 to coincide with the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a feast day on the Catholic liturgical calendar honoring Christ’s physical heart as the representation of his divine love for humanity.

It is the latest in a series of pastoral notes by the archbishop examining topics relevant to modern culture and society through the eyes of Unleash the Gospel, his pastoral letter released at Pentecost 2017.

“Remaining in Christ’s word, remaining in the truth, and remaining in his love are intimately united,” Archbishop Vigneron said in the new Pastoral Note. “We must remain with Christ ourselves and seek those communications that are both thoroughly true and charitable.”

Archbishop Vigneron stressed the role of the baptized to serve as “ambassadors of Christ” both on and offline.

“Just as the light of Christ “shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5), so Christ’s light shining in and through us can scatter the darkness of lies, deceptions, hatred, and division,” he said. “Our mission of unleashing the Gospel requires that we confront and reject those elements of our culture that threaten to draw people away from Christ and his Church.”

Catholics should view all communications – whether they be from print publications, television, radio, or digital media – with “discerning hearts and minds,” the archbishop said, to identify and reject materials that “that threaten to steer us away from Christ and his Church if we accept their messages indiscriminately.”

The Archbishop plans to further explore the importance of truth and charity in digital communications during this month’s Eyes on Jesus podcast episode, available June 29.

In closing his new Pastoral Note, Archbishop Vigneron highlighted the interpersonal nature of the internet and all messages contained within it.

“The internet is not just a jumble of wires and tubes,” he said. “It is a network of people – real, not virtual beings – who seek hope and long for salvation and who should be able, even in the digital space, to encounter Christ and experience the beauty of truth.”

Note to Media: Interviews are available with Father Charles Fox, assistant professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Michelle St. Pierre at (313) 805-1408 or stpierre.michelle@aod.org.

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