Experts: Church must address role of Internet in identity, community

Published: 2008-05-06

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church and particularly its social teaching must begin to grapple with the potential and the problems posed by the Internet, particularly when dealing with questions about personal identity, community involvement and solidarity, several social scientists said. Members of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, meeting at the Vatican May 1-7, explored how solidarity and subsidiarity can come together to promote the common good. As part of their discussion, they looked at the role of the market economy and the state in promoting the exchange of goods, but also at the role played by communities and groups that support people, give them identity and teach them how to contribute to society. For an increasing number of people, computers are the way they connect to the communities where they test and forge their personal identities and where they express their creativity and contribute to the production of goods, several academy members said at a May 6 Vatican press conference.

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