Vehicles of Communication

Q – Are we allowed to have our own websites or use Facebook as vehicles to communicate with one another, as long as we don’t rely on them exclusively?


A – We are only restricted by our own common sense. As previously stated, there are things to watch out for and be careful about. We are encouraged to use all means available to do what we can to share the Good News. Pope Benedict said in May 2009 that we should make use of new technologies of communication so as to utilize them in a positive way and to realize the great potential of these means to build up bonds of friendship and solidarity that can contribute to a better world.

A few of the Friars of our Province are on Facebook. Our Superior General, Fr. Saverio Cannistrà, at the closing of the General Chapter in Fatima, gave all the Teresian Carmelites in the world the pleasure of seeing and hearing him address us on the internet in a video on You Tube.

Communication is a two-way street. You send a message, but the other side must be able to receive it and understand it. You can’t just broadcast and expect it to be communicated. When putting something on the internet, everyone has access to it. The problem comes in receiving it and understanding it as it was intended. Someone might send a message in words that make sense to him or her, but the receiver doesn’t understand it the way it was meant. If there is not a two-way communication going on, you won’t find out that it was not understood. The internet system does not allow for that. You will just find out what is there, but it is easy for it to be misunderstood or even misrepresented.