Catholic priests have been admonished to endeavour to be more proficient in the use of social media as a veritable tool for evangelisation. This is part of a major consensus reached at a recent seminar for priests in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos organized by the Priests Welfare Committee in collaboration with the Directorate of Social Communications. At the seminar for Priests drawn from Deaneries across Badagry Region, held recently at the Holy Family Catholic Church, Festac, Lagos, the clergymen were also advised to be cautious in all they do as social media, which is now readily available for all and sundry, could be used to misrepresent their intents and actions for sinister purposes. In his presentation at the seminar with the theme “The use of digital media as a tool for evangelisation in the COVID-19 era”, Rev. Fr. Peter Akodu stressed the importance of Communications to evangelisation and the need for priests and seminarians to acquaint themselves with the requisite knowledge that would make them perform their pastoral responsibilities better.
While giving insight into the various Church documents relating to communications, he stressed the need to utilise social media in enlightening the parishioners in their various parishes so that they can be more aware of the growing global changes and how they can impact their faith. He equally challenged the participants to endeavour to horn their communication skills, noting that such remains an integral part of their apostolate. Also speaking at the event, a member of the Lagos Archdiocesan Communications Commission, Mr. Tony Chiejina, stressed the need for priests to be conversant with the workings of the social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram. These tools, according to him can serve as veritable means of disseminating information to their various parishioners. Recalling the experiences of COVID-19, Mr. Chiejina made it clear that the world was witnessing several changes in the mode of interaction whereby there is little or no room for secrecy. This, he said, has made it imperative for priests to be very familiar with the workings of social media and the dangers they portent for pastors of souls. He called for vigilance and discretion amongst priests at all times as they could easily fall target of insecurities and blackmail. Over 60 priests from the Badagry Region attended the event.
