Press Release - Catholic Digital Comms Conf in NYC - Click To Pray

Culture of encounter”, the new challenge for Catholic digital communications

Experienced Catholic communications professionals from different parts of the world meeting at the Catholic Digital Communications Conference in New York City agreed that overcoming the “globalization of indifference” is the main challenge for mobilizing people to work together to address the challenges facing humanity. The event, organized by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, was an opportunity to launch Click To Pray – the official prayer digital platform of the Pope – for the English speaking countries.

(New York City, July 6^th 2016). Today at the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham University in New York City the Catholic Digital Communications Conference in New York City, met to share expertise about Catholic digital communications. Professionals from different parts of the world met to discuss and exchange experiences on the effective use of digital media. One of the main conclusions was the need to move from the “globalization of indifference”, as Pope Francis says, to finally find a culture of encounter.

Fr. Frédéric Fornos, SJ, International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network said “each day is a window opening out to a new challenge for the mission of the Church. What is unique about Click To Pray is that it helps us to pray for the Pope’s intentions and to engage ourselves, by the offering of our lives, in the challenges facing humanity. Click To Pray unites us, in effect, to a network of millions of brothers and sisters who wish to contribute to a new world, a world of peace, justice and fraternity”.

Different specialists in the field, from the Church as well as from other institutions and media, presented tips, strategies and best practices, and defined digital communications as one of the main ways of encounter, and one of the most powerful tools to build relationships. This, of course, involves risks to consider.

“While the Network has a great tradition, Click To Pray helps us put new wine into new wineskins” said Fr. James Kubicki, SJ, US Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. More than 35 million people make up this network that has national offices around the world to help people everywhere to make a global impact.

Click To Pray presents something different each of the 365 days of the year. You can join millions around the world from different cultures and languages in praying for the universal challenges confronting humanity. “Click To Pray invites men and women around the world to accompany Pope Francis in a new digital way, with the hope that people from all continents unite in prayer for the great challenges of the world and the mission of the Church as expressed in the Pope’s intentions,” said Fr. Frédéric Fornos, SJ, International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

Developed, designed, and distributed by La Machi, Communications for Good Causes, Click To Pray is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French in both Android and iOS formats, so that people virtually everywhere can unite their prayers with the Pope’s easily and quickly everyday.

The experienced panel of experts also included Fr. James Martin, SJ, Editor-at-large at America Media; Fr. Sam Sawyer, SJ, Associate Editor and Director of Digital Strategy at America Media; John Harper, Morning Air Host at Relevant Radio; Elizabeth Scalia, Editor-in-Chief, Aleteia.org and Juan Della Torre, CEO & Founder of La Machi, Communications for Good Causes.

Respect for indigenous peoples

The Catholic Digital Communications Conference in New York City was also the best scenario to launch The Pope Video 7 for July, the series of viral videos that the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network has created to spread the word of the Pope’s intentions for the challenges facing humanity. This month the video is focused on “indigenous peoples, whose identity and very existence are threatened” the Pope said.

About Click To Pray

The motto of the Click To Pray app is “Together, we make a difference every day.” The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer) launched the app globally in March 2016 in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Click To Pray encourages users to pray every day for the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church, as expressed by the Pope in his monthly prayer intentions. The app reminds users of the World Day of Prayer (first Friday of each month) and proposes a rhythm of prayer three times a day: with Jesus in the morning, during the day, and at night. For more information: http://www.clicktopray.org.

About the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

The Apostleship of Prayer is the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network which seeks to address the challenges facing humanity and support the mission of the Church, as proposed by the Holy Father in his monthly intentions. The vision of the network is to be apostles in daily life through a spiritual path called “The Way of the Heart,” which transforms our way of serving Christ’s mission. The Apostleship of Prayer was founded in 1844, is present in over 100 countries, and is made up of over 35 million people, including its youth branch, the Eucharistic Youth Movement. For more information: //www.popesprayer.va.

For more information, contact:

Fr. James Kubicki, SJ

National Director

U.S. Apostleship of Prayer

jkubicki@apostleshipofprayer.org

www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Tel.: +1 414-486-1152

1501 S. Layton Blvd.

Milwaukee, WI 53215

Press Contact:

Justiniano Vila

Intelligence Manager