I don’t know much about the Pope. But I am learning quickly. Despite growing up Baptist where we didn’t give much heed to the Pope, I do respect his love of life and defense of the Church.
Admittedly lame research methods (i.e. Google) found the following quotes from the late Pope John Paul II:
“The question confronting the Church today is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message, but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the Gospel message.” (World Communications Day, January 24, 1989)
I know he was talking about media like television and radio, but essentially he was getting at the importance of using modern methods to spread the Gospel. The church utilizing marketing is no different.
“Young people are threatened… by the evil use of advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire.”
Even the Pope recognized the dangers of dishonest marketing. As churches begin using marketing and advertising techniques we need to avoid any dishonest, manipulative or, as the Pope said, evil methods.
