The fisherman and the net
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus encounters Peter and his brother Andrew doing their fishing chores and tells them “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” So they immediately dropped their nets and followed him.
The successors of the apostles have been casting their nets ever since. At the dawn of the new milliennium, John Paul II declared the Barque of Peter was on a new voyage.
…our hearts ring out with the words of Jesus when one day, after speaking to the crowds from Simon’s boat, he invited the Apostle to “put out into the deep” for a catch: “Duc in altum” (Lk 5:4). Peter and his first companions trusted Christ’s words, and cast the nets. “When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish” (Lk 5:6).
The current successor of Peter has plumbed new depths, going along with the net himself.
Yes, the Pope is ready to meet you on Facebook. Among other places in cyberspace.
“We recognize that a church that does not communicate ceases to be a church,” said Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican’s Social Communications department.
“Many young people today are not turning to traditional media like newspapers and magazines any more for information and entertainment.
“They are looking to a different media culture, and this is our effort to ensure that the Church is present in that communications culture.”
Mainstream media still willing to criticize Benedict for being ‘out of touch’ risk any credibility they still have. This Peter is more accessible than any pope in history.
