Theology 4: Transforming the World towards God’s Reign with St.

Vincent de Paul [57]

Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

Code Number: TH211E

Course Title: “TRANSFORMING THE WORLD TOWARDS

THE REIGN OF GOD WITH ST. VINCENT DE
PAUL”

CHAPTER VI: COMPUTER-MEDIATED

COMMUNICATIONS AND THE VINCENTIAN ETHIC OF
PROPHETIC NETWORKING FOR CHARITY AND JUSTICE

INTRODUCTION

In Chapter 3, we have seen how the present-day reality of human

migration has been affecting families, communities, and nations. A
key feature of this phenomenon, with its positive and negative aspects,
is the interconnected of peoples all over the world. Migration has been
bridging peoples, economies and cultures in an unprecedented way,
not only in terms of the vast numbers of people migrating to other
lands for various reasons but also in terms of the social changes that
migration carries in both the sending and receiving societies.

Simply put, migration is making us aware of the “different”

amongst us; rather than rejecting the differences, we are called as
human beings and as Christians particularly to celebrate the
differences by working together for the good of all in the world. We are
enjoined to be bridges of hospitality and solidarity rather than walls of
exclusion and discrimination.

Yet another significant feature of our contemporary world never

seen before in the past history of our planet is the increasing
development of newer forms of information and communications
technology. Generally referred to as “computer-mediated
communications,” modern and more effective tools or instruments of
interaction between people are developing in an exceptional way that
increases and enriches interconnectivity in the “global village.” The
“world” is not anymore “that big” as we thought before; because of
newer communication systems, we are able to be part of a “village”
where we can relate with one another, seek friendships, do business,
and even study together with the use of the internet, networking, and
digital communication.

Whereas in the past the primary form of interaction is the

physical face-to-face encounter, nowadays people continue to build
relationships but this time in cyberspace, which is a virtual interactive
experience that is accessible regardless of geographic distance and
time. “Virtual” does not mean hallucination but indeed a real
experience of interacting with people through the online world of
computer networks.

This chapter tackles the challenges that the computer-mediated

communications are posing to us. The objective of this chapter is
stated as follows:

Objective: At the end of this session, the student is

able to select and propose an effective and
sustained response to the challenges of commuter-
mediated communications in the light of the

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 Theology 4: Transforming the World towards God’s Reign with St. Vincent de Paul [58]
Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

Vincentian systemic-change ethics of “prophetic

networking for charity and justice.”

Let Us “SEE”
Computer-mediated communication or CMC may be defined as
any communication that takes place between two or more persons who
interact or influence each other through or facilitated by separate
computers, including Internet and network connection or social
software. Some examples of CMC are:
 Email (electronic mail),
 Internet Relay Chat or Chat Room,
 Usenet,
 Internet Messaging,
 Video Conferencing,
 Social Networking (Friendster, MySpace, Facebook,
Tweeter, Linkedin, etc.), and
 Text Messaging, because cell phones nowadays operate as
miniature computers.

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Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

Name: _________________________________________________
Time : _________________________________________________
Date : _________________________________________________

Seatwork #1

1) Which 2) How 3) Through 4) With whom do 5) For what purpose or

two or three many what means do you use the CMC? reason do you use this
types of hours per you use this type of CMC?
CMC do you day do you type of CMC?
often use? spend in (examples:
each type personal
of CMC? computer at
home, cell
phone, internet
cafe, etc.)

Note to Teachers: After the individual work, students may be

divided into small groups. Keep the groups at 3-4 members
only. These groups shall be retained throughout the activities
of Chapter 3. After the group discussion, reports are given to
the class for more discussion. The teacher may use the
following input for broadening the students’ experiences.

Among the various types of CMC, Facebook is the most popular

among the Filipinos. While only 29.7 percent of the Philippine
population has internet access, 93.7% of whom has Facebook
accounts. According to the internet essay of Jim Ayson
([Link]
facebook-nation-we-passed-20-million-in-2010-were-5-in-the-world/), in
2009 the market research company AGB Nielsen announced a figure of
21 million Filipinos as Facebook users, or 1 out of 4 Filipinos has a
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Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

Facebook account, with a projected run up to 30 million by 2012, or 1

out of 3 Filipinos.

The rapid increase of Filipino subscribers of Facebook every year

is telling: 5 Filipinos open a Facebook account per minute. In 2010,
there were 500 million subscribers of Facebook worldwide, among
which with the Philippines ranked 5th in subscription. The Philippines
was also named 6th top user of the social networking site Twitter in
2010.

Another report by the Facebook tracking service

SocialBakers (formerly known as Facebakers) puts the male/female
ratio as 48% male and 52% female, and in terms of age, 39% of Filipino
users are 18-24 and 24% are 25-34 years old. Combined, this accounts
for 63% of the total Facebook population (see, [Link]/
facebook-statistics/ Philippines).

One college study of Filipinos using Facebook reported in 2011

that 33% used it for communications, 22% for entertainment (such as
game applications), 28% for having friends, and 17% for business
(Glenn Joseph L Herrera et al., 2011). It has been suggested that a
person can be addicted to Facebook when the following indications are
demonstrated: checking your Facebook profile every 10 minutes;
spending more than half of your day in the social networking site;
updating your profile and status messages; adding plenty of friends;
and tracking your profile even in your mobile phone (Norman Berry,
2011).

On the use of Texting Messages through cell phones, the study of

Raul Pertierra and colleagues, Txt-ing Selves: Cellphones and
Philippine Modernity (2002, Manila: De Salle University Press) shows
that the Philippines has become the “texting capital of the world”
based on the very high per capita rates of text-messages via cell
phones. The researchers link this phenomenon to the transformative
effects of new media and information and communications
technologies as the new primary signifier of Filipino modern life.

These brief statistics inform us that CMC is not simply a tool or

instrument of communication but a process that is very part of the
everyday life of people to the extent of influencing our thoughts,
feelings, and actions, as well as shaping our views of our selves, life,
relationships, and the world. Let us explore further what lies behind
these statistics by critical analyzing the effects or impacts of CMC.

Note to Teachers: The following seatwork should first be done

individually inside the classroom or as home assignment, and
after which are to be shared or discussed in their small groups
again, with reports to the big group.

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Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

Name: _________________________________________________
Time : _________________________________________________
Date : _________________________________________________

Seatwork #2 (Please write in full sentences.)

1) What are two advantages of using CMC in your everyday life?

(a)

(b)

2) What are two disadvantages of using CMC in our everyday life?

(a)

(b)

3) What are two good things or positive changes you experienced with
yourself since the time you began using CMC?

(a)

(b)

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Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

4) What two difficulties or problems do you encounter with yourself as

user of CMC?

(a)

(b)

5) Based on your own experiences or on what you have heard from

others, what is one detrimental or harmful use of CMC and what is one
wholesome or beneficial use of CMC?

(a) unhealthy or harmful use of CMC –

(b)healthy or helpful use of CMC –

Let Us “DISCERN”
Pope Benedict: The CMC as Full of Possibilities but also Risks

The Catholic Church takes to heart the challenges and

possibilities that CMC offers to the world. While the various types or
modes of CMC have made it possible for people to relate with one
another in more extensive and perhaps deeper ways, they also raise
questions on the meaning of being human-in-relation-to-others. In his
message on the World Communications Day on June 5, 2011, Pope
Benedict XVI wrote:
The new technologies are not only changing the way
we communicate, but communication itself, so much so
that it could be said that we are living through a period of
vast cultural transformation. This means of spreading
information and knowledge is giving birth to a new way of
learning and thinking, with unprecedented opportunities
for establishing relationships and building fellowship.
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Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

([Link]
holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/communications/docu
ments/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20110124_45th-world-
communications-day_en.html)

The Pope recognized that CMC have been allowing people to be

present to one another via cyberspace, thus “beyond the confines of
space and of their own culture.” This has created an entirely new world
of potential friendships. The Pope saw the contribution of CMC as
creating “great opportunity, but it also requires greater attention to
and awareness of possible risks.” He articulated these concerns:
Who is my “neighbour” in this new world? Does the
danger exist that we may be less present to those whom
we encounter in our everyday life? Is there is a risk of
being more distracted because our attention is fragmented
and absorbed in a world “other” than the one in which we
live? Do we have time to reflect critically on our choices
and to foster human relationships which are truly deep and
lasting? It is important always to remember that virtual
contact cannot and must not take the place of direct
human contact with people at every level of our lives.

According to Pope Benedict XVI, “the dynamic inherent in the

social networks demonstrates that a person is always involved in what
he or she communicates. When people exchange information, they are
already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, and
their ideals.” This means that when Christians communicate using
CMC, they are making themselves, as followers of Christ, present in the
digital world. What others must be able to read and respond to is the
Christian way of making choices, preferences and judgements that are
fully consistent with the Gospel of love, justice, and peace.

Pope Francis: The Good Samaritan on the Streets of the

Digital World

Pope Francis too sees the challenges of CMC not as principally

technological but they are ethical. Speaking before the participants in
the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications in September 14, 2013, Pope Francis directs the
attention of the work of Christians in social communications to listen
and dialogue with people today who voice out about their lives in and
through different forms of newer communications technology. The Pope
wrote:

“We must ask ourselves: are we capable of bringing

Christ into this area, or rather, of bringing about the
encounter with Christ? To walk with the pilgrim through
life, but as Jesus walked with the pilgrims of Emmaus,
warming their hearts and leading them to the Lord? Are we
capable of communicating the face of a Church which can
be a “home” to everyone? We talk about the Church
behind closed doors. But this is more than a Church with
open doors, it’s more! Finding “home” together, building
“home”, building the Church. It’s this: building the Church
as we walk. A challenge! .... Even in the context of social
communications, the Church is required to bring warmth,
to warm hearts. Do our presence and plans measure up to
this requirement, or do we remain mired in technicalities?
We hold a precious treasure that is to be passed on, a
treasure that brings light and hope.... The great digital
continent does not only involve technology, but is made up

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 Theology 4: Transforming the World towards God’s Reign with St. Vincent de Paul [64]
Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

of real men and women who bring with them what they
carry inside, their hopes, their suffering, their concerns,
their pursuit of truth, beauty, and good. We need to show
and bring Christ to others, sharing these joys and hopes,
like Mary, who brought Christ to the hearts of men and
women; we need to pass through the clouds of indifference
without losing our way; we need to descend into the
darkest night without being overcome and disorientated;
we need to listen to the illusions of many, without being
seduced; we need to share their disappointments, without
becoming despondent; to sympathise with those whose
lives are falling apart, without losing our own strength and
identity (cf. Pope Francis, Address to the Bishops of Brazil,
27 July 2013, n. 4). This is the walk. This is the challenge.”
([Link] news/pope-francis-social-
communications-is-for-bringing).

What the two Popes are saying on behalf of the whole Church is
not to see CMC as something that is evil but these bear the potentials
of taking the pulse of the people of this digital age with “their hopes,
their suffering, their concerns, and their pursuit of truth, beauty, and
good.”The Church can use the various instruments of CMC to proclaim
the message of “warmth” that Christ brought and to make everyone be
“at home” in this world.

For Pope Francis, “The internet, in particular, offers immense

possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good,
a gift from God.” As developments in travel and communications
technology are bringing humanity closer together and making them
more connected, “nonetheless, divisions, which are sometimes quite
deep, continue to exist within our human family.” The Pope sees on
the global level “a scandalous gap between the opulence of the
wealthy and the utter destitution of the poor.... Our world suffers from
many forms of exclusion, marginalization and poverty, to say nothing
of conflicts born of a combination of economic, political, ideological,
and, sadly, even religious motives.”

For Pope Francis particularly, “The digital world can be an

environment rich in humanity; a network not of wires but of people.” In
his message for the 48th World Day of Social Communications on June
1, 2014, Pope Francis exhorts all Christians to take on the model of the
Good Samaritan who “not only draws nearer to the man he finds half
dead on the side of the road,” but he or she also “takes responsibility”
for the those who are suffering. He says, “Jesus shifts our
understanding: it is not just about seeing the other as someone like
myself, but of the ability to make myself like the other. Communication
is really about realizing that we are all human beings, children of God. I
like seeing this power of communication as "neighbourliness.” The
Pope emphasizes that to follow Jesus, the Good Samaritan, is to make
the choice “between a bruised Church which goes out to the streets
and a Church suffering from self-absorption, I certainly prefer the first.”
Relating this to the digital world aided by CMC, the Pope calls on the
whole Church not to see the CMC as an end but as a means to serve
the poor, the excluded, the marginalized, and the victims of social
conflicts. On both the virtual and real worlds, the Pope exhorts all
Christians to make the “streets” as home for everyone and the home
of God.

“Those "streets" are the world where people live and

where they can be reached, both effectively and

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Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

affectively. The digital highway is one of them, a street

teeming with people who are often hurting, men and
women looking for salvation or hope. By means of the
internet, the Christian message can reach "to the ends of
the earth" (Acts 1:8). Keeping the doors of our churches
open also means keeping them open in the digital
environment so that people, whatever their situation in
life, can enter, and so that the Gospel can go out to reach
everyone. We are called to show that the Church is the
home of all.” ([Link] en/articles/pope-
francis-message-for-the-48th-world-day-of-social-
communications)

The Pope concludes his message with this loud call for Christian
involvement in present-day networked world:

“May the light we bring to others not be the result of

cosmetics or special effects, but rather of our being loving
and merciful "neighbours" to those wounded and left on
the side of the road. Let us boldly become citizens of the
digital world. The Church needs to be concerned for, and
present in, the world of communication, in order to
dialogue with people today and to help them encounter
Christ. She needs to be a Church at the side of others,
capable of accompanying everyone along the way.”

The Vincentian Ethic of Prophetic Networking for Charity and

Justice

How do we concretize the call of Pope Francis to be Good

Samaritans who take the side of “those wounded and left on the side of
the road”? In the light of the Vincentian approach of systemic change,
we are reminded by the words of St. Vincent de Paul: “There is no act
of charity that is not accompanied by justice or that permits us to do
more than we reasonably can.”

St. Vincent de Paul had a keen understanding of the social

conditions of the poor, whereby their poverty is not simply as isolated
individual cases but a systemic problem brought about by unjust
ordering of society in which wealth is concentrated in only a few while
the majority of people are living in miserable poverty. To care for the
poor thus is to address the bigger problem of injustice in society that
makes them suffer. And to help eradicate poverty or uplift the poor
towards a better life demands that every act of charity must have the
effect of changing not only the lives of the poor but transforming the
entire society so that everybody will be welcomed and find a home.
This is in accordance to the calling of Vincentian missionaries to follow
St. Vincent, “who like the Good Samaritan of the gospel parable (Lk.
10: 30-37), gave effective help to the abandoned, provinces and
members should earnestly strive to serve those rejected by society and
those who are victims of disasters and injustices of every kind” (Robert
P. Maloney, CM, “Struggle to Transform Unjust Situations,” at
[Link]
wiki/Seeds_of_Change_Chapter_19:_Struggle_to_Transform_Unjust_Situ
ations).

In today’s world of newer communications, we have in our hands

the CMC which is a “gift from God” (Pope Francis) that we can use to
the fullest effective way to promote and establish a networked world
where charity and justice governs. This entails becoming prophets in

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 Theology 4: Transforming the World towards God’s Reign with St. Vincent de Paul [66]
Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

the “digital streets.” A “prophet,” as we have learned in Theology 1, is

a spokesperson of God-in-Christ; he or she announces the good news
of salvation (kaginhawaan sa buhay), and denouncing as well those
things, structures, and mechanisms that deprive people, especially the
poor of human life.

Joseph P. Foley, C.M., suggests that the prophetic challenge

issued by St Vincent is also captured in declarations like the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and the Millennium Development Goals. These
documents express the conviction that:
 all people have a human right to have their dignity
acknowledged and protected;
 that all people have a right to equitable and sustainable
economic and social development;
 that people everywhere have a right to live in peace;
 and that the world’s people have the right to healthy,
productive lives in harmony with nature.

These instruments give legitimacy and support to the effort to

promote systemic change. (Foley, “Have a Prophetic Attitude,” at
http://
[Link]/wiki/Seeds_of_Change_Chapter_20:_Have_a_Prophetic_Attit
ude)

As followers of Jesus of Nazareth and inspired by St. Vincent who

are steeped in today’s CMC, we are to direct our efforts of giving voice
to “those wounded and left on the side of the road,” that is, the poor,
the excluded, the marginalized, and the victims of violence of every
form through the use of the Internet and various social networks. We
still live in a “digitally divided world” where, for example in the
Philippines, only 29.7% of the population of over 90 million have
access to the Internet. Majority of those who have no access are poor
people in the informal settlements in the urban areas and in rural
areas, especially far-flung barrios.

To have a prophetic mission is to serve as spokesperson of the

poor in articulating through the CMC “their hopes, their suffering, their
concerns, their pursuit of truth, beauty, and good,” so that the greater
world or the public will know their situation and to call them to action
to help the poor. This may also mean opening out social network
accounts for discussion and debate that can bring to light the struggles
and aspirations of the poor and those who are suffering in any way. We
need to be critical of news, analyses, statuses, photos, quotations and
he like that hide or give false understandings about the poor and their
situation and longings. We must tell the public the truth of their
suffering, why they are suffering and their desire to overcome
suffering. To echo Pope Benedict, our social networks and text
messages should reveal the Christian way of choices, preferences and
judgements that are fully consistent with the Gospel of love, justice,
and peace.

As Good Samaritans to our neighbours on the “digital streets,”

we are called to be sensitive to their wounds and experiences of being
left on the side of the society. As the access to the CMC increases also
among the poor and suffering, let us take into consideration of their
conditions by refraining from posting, such as in Facebook, photos of
affluence, wealth, and abundance like food, clothing, and other
material things that will only reinforce the “scandalous gap between
the opulence of the wealthy and the utter destitution of the poor.”

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Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

We can follow St. Vincent’s virtue or good habit of simplicity that

shows our solidarity with the poor, rather than making them feel “half
dead on the side of the road.” Simplicity in the context of CMC may
also imply exercises the virtues of prudence and temperance on what
we post or write on the CMC, and to move out of a an individualistic
and narcissistic tendencies (as we have learned in Theology 2) toward
persons who are in communion and solidarity with those suffering in
the world.

A systemic-change approach to a network of charity and justice

also means that the poor, the excluded, the marginalized, and victims
of injustice and violence are empowered to voice out their own
situation and the many good things that they are doing to uplift their
conditions toward a better life. This would mean training them to use
the computer and creating opportunities for them to relate to the
digital world. John Freund, C.M., suggests the following:

More than ever there is need for employable skills which

can be acquired for the most part only through training
and hands on, on-line experience. The shift from an
industrial economy to a service and information economy
dramatically widens the gap between the "digerati" and
the poor. To attend to this new form of poverty we must
heed the repeated calls of Pope John Paul II “to search out
more than ever, with boldness, humility and skill, the
causes of poverty and encourage short and long-term
solutions.”

If the poor are to sit at the table with others, then they
have very specific needs. Chief among these would be
word-processing skills and access to computers. Some
have already begun this form of empowering ministry.
Recently a housing development in Rhode Island became
the first in the country to act on this insight when it built in
computer access and skills training for all residents. In
Philadelphia local activists have arranged for a mobile van
to provide access and training in poor neighbourhoods.

The voice of the poor may be initially through people like

us, but ultimately the poor themselves must be
empowered to speak in their own voices and sit at the
table of the new measure of wealth - information. There
will always be need for bringing the food and bandaging
the wounds. But even Vincent de Paul, the paragon of
direct service to the poor, saw in his age the need to do
more - to network, organize and get at root causes.
Otherwise the poor are condemned forever to eating the
scraps from Dives' table. (Freund, “From parchment to
cyberspace: good news about the Internet,” at
[Link] revrelig/[Link])

We can take cues from the Vincentian fathers and brothers in

their commitment to foster the role of the poor as evangelizers in the
networked world (see, http://
[Link]/wiki/Vincentians_and_New_Media)
 to take initiatives in fostering access by the poor themselves
to the mass media so that they may participate in the benefits
of communications technology;
 establish a worldwide communication network and actively
foster its use, providing economic and technological
assistance where necessary;
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Chapter 6: Computer-Mediated Communications

 seek actively the involvement of the wider Vincentian Family

in accomplishing these objectives, and especially encourage
the mutual distribution of publications through the Internet.

Let Us “ACT”
Note to Teachers: The students will do this project in their
small groups that were formed at the start of the Chapter (the
“Let Us SEE” groups).

To demonstrate your learning’s and insights in this chapter, your

task as small groups is to construct a “Facebook page”, or a “blog”, or
a “Facebook account” or any other social network account that will
promote the Vincentian prophetic networking for charity and justice.
You and your “FB friends” will share experiences, reflections, thoughts,
feelings, activities, and so forth. Start with friends who are open and
supportive to the idea of Vincentian prophetic networking for charity
and justice. This project will be viewed by your mentor every now and
then throughout the semester, and hopefully sustained by your group
after the semester.

To end our session, let us pray the “Prayer for Systemic Change”
(http:// [Link]/wiki/Prayer_for_systemic_change):

Prayer for Systemic Change

We praise and thank you, O God, Creator of the

Universe.

You have made all things good and have given us the
earth to cultivate.

Grant that we may always use created things

gratefully,
and share them generously with those in need.

Give us creativity in helping the poor meet their

basic human needs.

Open our minds and hearts so that we might stand

at their side
and assist them to change whatever unjust
structures keep them poor.

Enable us to be brothers and sisters to them, friends

who walk with them in their struggle for fundamental
human rights.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

AMEN.

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Prepared for IRED:

Emmanuel S. de Guzman
Mat Florece,
Edgardo Aquilon,
Arturo Baloso
Atty. Jan Nelin Navallasca

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