(ANS– Rome) – The series of articles conceived and produced by Fr. Maciej Makuła, SDB, member of the Social Communication Sector, continues to be published, revolving around the theme of Communication in the Salesian Family. On this occasion, for the month of August, the reflection concerns the media communication carried out by the Church, an institution that in order to be able to speak once more to the men and women of our time, cannot exempt itself from facing the change of era that is underway.

Every now and then a new media era comes along and this change is particularly evident right now. There is no doubt that some ways of creating content a few years ago already seem archaic because media, especially social media, is changing dynamically.

Each new era introduces distinct processes and innovative tools linked to the modernization of communication and the transformation of the entire culture. Some communication structures are relaxing, others are crystallizing, even in the Church, while the public is acquiring unprecedented skills and presents increasingly innovative expectations.

New technologies and the development of the Internet are also changing the way the Church approaches evangelization. Thanks to devices unknown only a few years ago, the Church has entered pulpits that are seen and heard by billions of people around the world. In theory, almost 3 billion people can follow a news item uttered by Church people on Facebook, for example.

This new era of evangelization is sometimes perplexing, while at other times it is a challenge that many people are responding to as a gift of the Holy Spirit.

As Fr. Makula clearly explains, “as far as the Church is concerned, the challenge is to find a balance between evangelization, the transmission of values and the use of modern media to convey information in a crowded media space.”