Pope Leo's message to digital missionaries

Herald Malaysia

4 hours ago

It's doubly significant for Filipinos, who spend 3.5 hours daily on social media, far longer than the world average of 2.33 hours Aug 12, 2025
This file photo shows Philippine priest Father Paul Woo (second from right) learning a dance from the video-sharing platform TikTok from youth members of a social communication ministry of his parish in Navotas City, suburban Manila. Pope Leo XIV recently reminded participants of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers in the Vatican of the challenges of their mission. (Photo: AFP)
By Ruben C. Mendoza
In today's digital world, it is easy to lose sight of what is essential in life. The advances in technology have made life so convenient in many ways, but they have also brought their own set of problems.
The virtual world makes it so tempting to base one's and another person's worth on the number of one's followers in social media or the number of 'likes' or other positive emojis that one receives for one's post.
Many young gamers spend too much time online that their only 'relationships' are virtual ones. They no longer know what it means to talk to another person face to face, look into each other's eyes, be sensitive to the other's body language, read the other's facial expression, touch each other if need be, and genuinely laugh or be sad at each other's experience. They instead simply type emojis or write 'LOL,' 'ROFL,' or 'LMAO.'
In the wrong hands, social media can easily be manipulated to promote vested interests that don't really contribute to or promote human flourishing.
Pope Leo XIV, on July 31, gave a speech to participants of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers in the Vatican. He reminded them of three challenges of their mission.
First, they are called 'to nourish Christian hope in social networks and online spaces,' proclaiming the peace of Christ not only in conflict areas but also in spaces where people are bereft of hope.
Second, they are to 'always look for the 'suffering flesh of Christ' in every brother and sister you encounter online.' This, I think, is challenging and demands a willingness to encounter the other and enter into the messiness of the other person's life.
In a world influenced by science and technology, for Pope Leo, 'nothing that comes from man [sic] and his creativity should be used to undermine the dignity of others. Our mission — your mission — is to nurture a culture of Christian humanism, and to do so together.'
This is noteworthy given the prevailing cancel culture of many on social media, a phenomenon that does not promote genuine encounter and dialogue.
And third, just as Jesus called his disciples as they were mending their nets, Pope Leo told the participants that they are similarly called by Jesus to weave other nets: 'networks of relationships, of love, of gratuitous sharing where friendship is profound and authentic; networks where we can mend what has been broken, heal from loneliness, not focus on the number of followers, but experience the greatness of infinite Love in every encounter; networks that give space to others more than to ourselves, where no 'bubble' can silence the voices of the weakest; networks that liberate and save; networks that help us rediscover the beauty of looking into each other's eyes; networks of truth. In this way, every story of shared goodness will be a knot in a single, immense network: the network of networks, the network of God.'
The Philippines has been dubbed the texting capital of the world, and despite ongoing issues of internet connectivity, the country also ranks high in terms of internet usage.
Filipinos spend 3.5 hours daily on social media, far longer than the world average of 2.33 hours. This is why the pope's reminders are doubly significant.
Because of the internet, there is now greater interaction between people of different cultures from all over the world, mutually influencing and even challenging one another. Such encounters lead to questions about the things in one's culture that one is used to.
On the one hand, that might lead to the uncritical acceptance of a culture as the norm or standard for others — a kind of cultural imperialism. On the other hand, it might also lead to something positive. It can make one question unchallenged assumptions about one's personal life, cultural traditions, and social life, which can lead to the dismantling of sinful social structures and to the creation of just and inclusive ones.
Filipinos, especially those who are 'chronically online,' join various online networks for various reasons. It may be that they share common interests in that group, have the same advocacies, or have a history together.
While social media enables us to be more connected virtually, the flipside is that Facebook, TikTok, or other platforms have been used and continue to be used as a weapon to denigrate one's perceived enemies and spread disinformation.
What Pope Leo does is to remind us that just like any other scientific and technological development and advancement, there are limits to how one uses it. It is not the 'I have the freedom to do it' attitude that must prevail in the online world or the bigger world, for that matter.
Influencers ought to use their capital in ways that promote human dignity and well-being. In a VUCA (i.e. characterized by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) world, there is all the more need to weave networks that contribute to the healing of persons and their relationships, liberate people from sinful social structures and systems, provide for the needs of all and promote quality of life for all, and respect ecological integrity.
In fishing, one needs not only patience and persistence, but one must also know how to cast the net, tie knots, and read the weather, the waters, and fish. Similarly, evangelization in the virtual world — the creation of networks that safeguard and promote life — is a gradual process that needs patience and persistence, sensitivity to its various actors, a certain degree of tech savviness, and the capacity to adjust and adapt to the signs of the times.
Hopefully, when we cast our nets into the deep, it will be done with more intentionality, not to simply catch any kind of fish that is out there, but to catch those whom God desires in God's network.--ucanews.com