Dear Reader,

The present issue of The Angelus deals with technology and communication. This year, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Angelus Press, the central instrument of communication of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) in America. Originally founded to defend the Faith and provide the public with the proper teaching of Archbishop Lefebvre, we are proud to say that, today more than ever, we are still dedicated to this purpose with the SSPX extending far and wide within the continent and even spreading the message of Tradition to the whole English-speaking world.

Technology is a very pertinent topic in this issue. Few of you will be surprised that we are addressing this theme after a study of social media in January 2016. Most of us acknowledge how encroaching the screen devices have been to public and private life. Need we make illustrations? Google’s top leaders define man simply as a computer machine, reduced to zeroes and ones. Silicon Valley had told us time and again “Privacy is dead. Get over it!” Mark Zuckerberg, the guru of Facebook, is facing scrutiny before Congress.

The giants of the Web world possess human data, communication means, monetary power and intrusion into countries in ways that an enemy army could never have dreamed of before. A worldwide revolution has taken place and politicians are only waking up to the threats these foreigners are bringing over their country. China is spanned by its Great Wall, but Google knows no border. And no web giant fears local courts which operate at a snail’s pace when they are already light years ahead treading other laws under foot; The lion is out of the cage.

Yet, it is within our own sphere of influence that we can act. Modern technology needs to be assessed properly within our human existence. Is it a rhetorical question to ask who, between man and the machine, is the master and who is the slave? Whether we like it or not, the Web with its multiple tentacles is here to stay. We are confronted in all walks of life with a new and invasive lifestyle and we need to appreciate its interests and pitfalls. Thus forewarned, it should help us to inform our mind and form our conscience as well as those entrusted to us.

Fr. Jürgen Wegner

Publisher