Dignity and Safety in a Digital Age

“The Internet can be a door to good or evil. The International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency, estimated that, in June 2017, 51% of the world’s population had access to the Internet: that is, nearly 3.2 billion people, including 2 billion in developing countries and 89 million in the least developed nations.”

Starting from the figures, the analysis conducted by Teresa Kettlecamp, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, focused, in her lecture at the roundtable, on the theme “Dignity and Safety in a Digital Age: Facing a New Challenge for Families.”

“If the Internet can be used in many good and positive ways—she explained—, the presence of evil should also be noted: child pornography, online extortion and exploitation, sexual trafficking, cyber-bullying and threats, revenge porn (pornographic revenge with the dissemination of intimate images once the relationship between two people has ended, NDR), sexting (intimate images transmitted online through private chats, NDR), and the presence of online predators.”

What can we do about this? “The answer—she explained—can come from the inspiring principles of our Foundation for the universal protection of childhood: first of all, life is sacred, because we are all made in the image and likeness of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Principle and the End; moreover, if we believe in what we say we believe in, and if we believe what Scripture says and this influences our convictions, we could end the abuse, poverty, racism, bullying, hatred, to name only some evils. Those who have the capacity to help also have the responsibility to help.”