Serving the common good

An article on last week's edition of the Malta Independent on Sunday reported an entry on Wired Temples that referred to Toni Sant's defense of the internet. It has triggered an official response from Malta's Church authorities. The Archbishop is not for turning! From a letter by the Curia's public relations officer appearing today on the Malta Independent on Sunday:

Mgr Mercieca would like to assure one and all that he felt the need to dwell on this subject in light of certain incidents that were brought to his attention. He wanted to take this occasion to pass this message to journalists to encourage the local media to contribute towards helping people, especially the young, to be able to make sound evaluations and good choices when using the Internet.

The Archbishop knows that the essence of the Internet is that it provides an almost unending flood of information, much of which often passes in a moment. He also knows that, in a culture which feeds on the ephemeral, there can easily be a risk of believing that it is facts that matter, rather than values. The Internet offers extensive knowledge, but it does not teach values; and when values are disregarded, our very humanity is demeaned and man easily loses sight of his transcendent dignity.

Mgr Mercieca feels that despite its enormous potential for good, some of the degrading and damaging ways in which the Internet is being used must be obvious to all, so one needs to ensure that this marvellous instrument serves the common good and not become a source of harm.

'Remember a day' by Toni Sant