Dear Brothers and Sisters!
In anticipation of the forthcoming World Communications Day, I would like to address to you some reflections on the theme chosen for this year - New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship. The new digital technologies are, indeed, bringing about fundamental shifts in patterns of communication andIn anticipation of the forthcoming World Communications Day, I would like to address to you some reflections on the theme chosen for this year - New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship. The new digital technologies are, indeed, bringing about fundamental shifts in patterns of communication and human relationships. These changes are particularly evident among those young people who have grown up with the new technologies and are at home in a digital world that often seems quite foreign to those of us who, as adults, have had to learn to understand and appreciate the opportunities it has to offer for communications.
In this year’s message, I am conscious of those who constitute the so-called digital generation and I would like to share with them, in particular, some ideas concerning the extraordinary potential of the new technologies, if they are used to promote human understanding and solidarity. These technologies are truly a gift to humanity and we must endeavor to ensure that the benefits they offer are put at the service of all human individuals and communities, especially those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable.
The accessibility of mobile telephones and computers, combined with the global reach and penetration of the internet, has opened up a range of means of communication that permit the almost instantaneous communication of words and images across enormous distances and to some of the most isolated corners of the world; something that would have been unthinkable for previous generations.
Young people, in particular, have grasped the enormous capacity of the new media to foster connectedness, communication and understanding between individuals and communities, and they are turning to them as means of communicating with existing friends, of meeting new friends, of forming communities and networks, of seeking information and news, and of sharing their ideas and opinions.
Many benefits flow from this new culture of communication: families are able to maintain contact across great distances; students and researchers have more immediate and easier access to documents, sources and scientific discoveries, hence they can work collaboratively from different locations; moreover, the interactive nature of many of the new media facilitates more dynamic forms of learning and communication, thereby contributing to social progress.
While the speed with which the new technologies have evolved in terms of their efficiency and reliability is rightly a source of wonder, their popularity with users should not surprise us, as they respond to a fundamental desire of people to communicate and to relate to each other.
This desire for communication and friendship is rooted in our very nature as human beings and cannot be adequately understood as a response to technical innovations.
The head of the Diocese of Thiès did not support the creation of the post of vice-president and he said during his pastoral visit to the parish of Our Lady of Victories Diourbel, last weekend. Bishop Jacques Sarr emphasized he does not speak on behalf of the Church of Senegal, but expresses a view quite personal.
DIOURBEL - 'I am against the creation of a vice-president by President Abdoulaye Wade. These comments are Monsignor Jacques Sarr, Bishop of Thies. The head of the church in the region of Thies and Diourbel however, wished to clarify that there is no ambiguity: 'I can not speak for the Church of Senegal because n 'was not spoken between us, but personally, I do not like putting up the post of vice-president. "
Bishop Jacques Sarr took these remarks during his pastoral visit to the parish of Our Lady of Victories Diourbel, last weekend. The head of the Diocese of Thiès was the capital of Baol to administer the sacrament of confirmation to many young Christians who have been preparing for years to receive this crown.
Taking advantage of this communion with the Catholic families in the region of Diourbel, Bishop is widely Thiès income on national news dominated mainly by creating the post of Vice-President to replace the president in his duties, but especially the situation of the rural world with hivernage that is being moved slowly. Facing the press, Bishop Jacques Sarr prayed for abundant rain and blessed. He also hoped that the farmers and pastoralists in the country to find the support they need to have a correct and suitable wintering very profitable. 'I think with good seeds distributed in time. I also think fertilizers, agricultural equipment for farmers finally give attractive prospects, "he says.
Walfadjri Tuesday 26 May 2009