Communicating faith through the legacy media. Theological reflections and pastoral implications

Abstract

This paper is a reflection on the theological and pastoral implications of the communication of faith through the media. Its starting point is not based on the dichotomous categorisation of the media as either very beneficial, or very negative for the communication of faith; thus avoiding an either/or attitude which is very limiting. The hypothesis explored is that the language of faith is only communicated through the language of a medium and that such a translation, not to say incarnation, has to take into consideration the technological, organisational and cultural dimensions of the legacy or traditional media as well as their very important role in contemporary culture. The cultural and theological reflection will then be followed by the proposal of elements of a pastoral strategy that best respects the characteristics of faith and media as well as those of the audiences towards which both faith and media are directed.