From the address to the Central Committee and to representatives of Episcopal Conferences. 16 February 1996

«It is therefore essential to consider the new multimedia technologies with wise discernment. They have a decisive influence on people's way of thinking and behaving, as well as on the formation of the new generations. Through them, messages and ways of life sometimes far removed from the Gospel can enter the home and disrupt traditions and age-old customs. At the same time it is possible to use them to enhance understanding and solidarity between individuals and peoples.

No one can ignore the role that these instruments can play in the preparation and celebration of the forthcoming Jubilee, the first of the telematic age. At the beginning of the second millennium, the Church contributed decisively to spreading the Gospel and to the civilization of peoples, especially through monasteries, by putting at their service the wealth of classical culture, in addition to the treasures of Christian spirituality. At this historic turning-point, which, with the arrival of the third millennium, is taking on the aspect of an authentic technological and telematic revolution, the Christian community, rich in faith and expert in humanity, is called to become aware of the new challenges and to face them courageously, enlivening this new form in a Christian way. In putting all the most modern means of communication at the service of the Gospel, believers will walk in step with the times; they will not fail to make their specific contribution to building the civilization of love in a world that is more attentive to man because it is more attentive to God. May the preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 see everyone joining forces, so that Christ will become the heart of the world».