Zenit.org, the Catholic news agency, interviewed sociologist G. Alexander Ross about cyber communities. Here's one interesting blurb:
Q: How could a person cultivate an attitude of authentic Christian charity, like that described by Benedict XVI in "Deus Caritas Est," through a cyber relationship?
Ross: One of the points that the Holy Father stresses in his first encyclical is the Church's concept of subsidiarity and its role in true Christian charity.
The concept of subsidiarity reminds us that associations of a higher order -- most particularly, the state -- must support rather than usurp the functions that are best carried out in the family, the local church community, and other lower order associations.
The flexibility, independence and decentralization of the Internet permit the formation of cyber communities as lower-order associations that can respond to the needs of their fellow men with "spontaneity" and "closeness."
There are many instances of groups which have used the Internet to mobilize others to respond with compassion to human and social problems.
Cyber communities formed around pro-life work, for example, have done marvelous work in bringing Christ's love and guidance to young mothers in need. This is not work done by the "bureaucratic state" but by individuals and groups with authentic concern for others.
At a simpler level, the mere act of communicating with another human being can often be a gesture of love.
One may not be able to comfort another with a touch of a hand or a smile over the Internet, but nor is that possible with a conventional letter. And we have no doubt that great love has been communicated through that ancient medium.
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