Anthony Bailey – “Salesians and the Internet” in “Journal of Salesian Studies”

As early as 1989 Pope John Paul II alerted the Church to the pastoral possibilities that technology presented to those who had concern for young people.

A simple search of the Internet using the key-word ‘”Catholic” produces over 22,000 entries. These Catholic sites follow the familiar pattern of web-sites- a mixture of good, bad and the embarrassingly ugly. A closer examination of some Roman Catholic sites indicates that although the authors may be using the latest technology, in many cases their theology has not changed over the years. For many Catholics the Internet is a museum not a meeting place. Access to the Internet has not changed them nor their ideas. Despite the eccentricities of some Catholic sites the Church has many impressive sites on the Internet, including the Vatican site which is at present undergoing reconstruction. On the Internet even the Church has to come to terms with change.

INDEX

• What is the Internet?
• The Church and the Internet
• Religious Orders and the Internet
• Salesians on the Internet
• Reasons for Being There
• The nature of This Presence
• Recommendations
• The Cost
• Conclusion

Reference time period: 1989 – 1996

Reference institution:
Institute of Salesian Studies