Will Heaven

This ‘Notebook’ column was originally published in the Catholic Herald on April 18th, 2008

Politicians are in on the game. They are, it seems, realising the potential of online-campaigning and the harnessing power of the internet. We have witnessed WebCameron, which takes us behind the scenes at Parliament and into David Cameron’s home (while loading the dishwasher, for instance, he tells us about his policy for schools).

Now, Labour and the Lib Dems have their own YouTube channels, giving opportunities for interactive debate – you leave a question for Gordon, and a week or so later he answers it on a live “web-cast”. The success of these videos is indisputable: young people, supposedly disinterested in politics, are now hooked on the content and partake in the online debates. The internet is reaching a wider and younger audience.

How, then, is the Church using the internet to reach out to young Catholics? Sadly, the answer is, hardly at all. Quite simply, the Catholic Church lacks an online presence. While schools, parents, chaplaincies and parish priests do a lot of work with the Church’s youth, the Vatican and our Bishops should give an interactive, readily available source of guidance for Catholics online. Beyond a few US-based websites offering priests’ answers to frequently asked questions, there is next to nothing aimed at young Catholics between the ages of 18 to 25 – that is, the age when we really start questioning our faith.

The Pope’s video message to the US, which was broadcast a week before his current visit, was a prime example of the power of the internet. The video found its way onto YouTube and was watched there by tens of thousands of people. Sourced from the internet, it was then broadcast by dozens of American news channels, and the Pope’s message was quoted in newspapers the world over. Elsewhere on the internet, Catholic bloggers prove daily that there is a thirst for Catholic web content - they attract thousands of readers every day.

The sooner the Church realises the potency of the internet, the better. Ok, young Catholics don’t want an over the top PopeTube or WebCormac – as always, most of us prefer it when the Church acts its 2000 year-old age. But more blogs from priests, podcasts from Bishops, and the odd video from a Cardinal should not be beyond today’s clergy. A Church which doesn’t make full use of the internet misses out on the most effective form of communication in today’s world, and the easiest way to spread its message.
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Last Sunday was the start of the annual drive for vocations. Once again, we are made aware that there are nowhere near enough young men wanting to be priests. The Church’s campaign politely informs us that priests are normal young men who want to serve God and his people – a calendar published by the Diocese of Leeds, for example, shows priests doing DIY and “normal” things like reading celebrity magazines and watching baseball on TV.

But realistically, priests should be young men who are willing to lead a chaste life of relative poverty which, let’s face it, is not normal at all. So, it begs the decades-old question, how do you convince a young man to devote his life to dedicated service, in a world which wishes only to be served?

Clearly, an easy answer to this question would solve quite a few of the Church’s problems, and there isn’t one. But surely any vocations campaign should highlight the challenging nature of the priesthood. It’s not, I imagine, an easy job. So priests must be ambitious, as well as faithful, dedicated and hardworking – they must raise themselves up to do a difficult job. Pretending that the priesthood is easy, or that it provides a life of normality, won’t get us anywhere.

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