When asked about the importance of the presence of the Church in social media, Bishop Robert Barron said, “The social media have exploded in range and popularity the last ten years, and the Church, broadly speaking, has found innumerable ways to use them for the sake of the Gospel. This has been a tremendous boon to the Church and has aided our evangelical mission extraordinarily”.

I believe Bishop Barron is right. We are living in a golden age of evangelization through the new communication platforms. Only a decade ago the Church had just a limited presence in the new areas of media. However, this has very significantly changed in recent times. We can produce material of the highest technical quality today, at a reasonable cost, which was impossible a decade ago.

Among the many new initiatives in Catholic media stands Shalom World. From humble beginnings it is now a worldwide service reaching into the lives of millions of people with a very high standard of Catholic content. Many people who would never consider attending a Catholic event or speaking with a priest about a matter of the Catholic faith, can now, in the comfort of their own home search for what they are looking for!

The recent pandemic, while causing much suffering, sadness and fear, has opened up new possibilities for the communication of the Catholic faith. Throughout the world we have seen Masses being live-streamed. We have seen people locked up and isolated finding consolation and hope through visiting Catholic sites. The Church is now reaching people through the internet who would have never otherwise come to the Catholic faith.

At the heart of all Catholic communication, there needs to be a faithful presentation of the Catholic faith. The content needs to be spiritually nourishing as well as attractively presented. It also needs to be able to speak to the reality of people’s lives. Shalom World, I believe, does all this very well. It is true Catholic media.

We can support the mission of Shalom World firstly through our own use of its wide range of services. Secondly, through promoting the services it has to offer. Thirdly, we should pray for God’s continued blessing upon its work. Finally, our financial support will enable its great evangelizing mission to continue and expand.