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While reciting traditional prayers at a Good Friday service at my church last week, it struck me that things have not really changed in the Catholic Church. Although Vatican II brought about a lot of changes to the Church's practices, there is so much that has remained the same throughout its history. I'm sure that's how many expect and desire it to stay. You can't fight city hall, can you?
While the Church is reluctant to make bold changes, I am surprised, though, that the institution has not used recent media technologies to extend its thousand year old (and then some) mission of spreading the word of God. The possibility to reach a broader audience must excite some within the Church. Or so you would think.
Still, from what I've seen and from what I've experienced, the Church has not caught on. Sure, there are Masses aired on television, religious conversations on Sirius Radio, and podcasts available online-- but the Church has fallen wayside to other, more marketed concepts.
Then again, maybe that's the point. Religion has been marketed for years by missionaries and saints and martyrs, but that seems a little dated, right? Is it better for the Church to embrace its more conservative side and reject modern technology? Would it really make a big impact if the Church suddenly embraced commercialization? Would it change the meaning and intent of the Church?
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My mom and I disagree about organized religion; she goes to church and I don't. We've had several conversations about it, and as she explains it, "I go to church because of the sense of community. I like being around people who believe what I believe." Maybe this explains why the Church hasn't been affected so much by technology; would you really feel the same watching that Good Friday service on a monitor as you would attending it in a church with others?
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