Hehe, I was just going to post this because I'm curious about what people here might think.
Personally, I very much admire our Pope Emeritus as a theologian and a person. I'd love to read a decent English translation of his letter.
Here's the article I found:
News Briefs/Rss | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views
The Pope emeritus wrote that the service of a shepherd cannot be only limited only to the Church, even though in the first place, we are entrusted with the care of the faithful and of those who are directly seeking faith. The Church, he maintained, is part of the world, and therefore it can properly play its service only if it takes care of the world in its entirety.
I think, by this, that Fr. Benedict means that we need to encourage dialogue among people of differing views. We need to let the Church's reasoning shine through, and to share it with as many as we can. One of my oldest friends is a priest, and his bishop has given him permission to use social media as part of his ministry. He is permitted to produce (theologically sound) material and to teach classes on difficult issues at his parish. (The most recent class was about Theology of the Body.)
Being more engaged, connecting with people, meeting them on their terms and forging trust bonds in order to hold discussions is, I think, quite crucial to the Church's survival. We should share the Church's worldview, and do it justice in the hope that God's message will reach more ears.
For a person like me, who is somewhat isolated, online engagement is important, if not crucial - the internet is my window into the world. Adding this sort of aspect to ministry could be very helpful. But it also means you'll get a lot of trolls.