For it to remain true to its mission and be a significant part of peoples’ lives, the Church has been tasked to be present in the digital space so as to reach out to the new form of social community, the netizens. The charge was given by Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Michael Umoh in his paper delivered at a seminar for Priests of Lagos Archdiocese held on Wednesday, 28 September, 2022, at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos. Fr. Umoh stated that of particular interest is the fact that in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium of 2013, the Holy Father, Pope Francis specifically called for renewal of all structures and persons in the Church, in order to make them mission-oriented and also to build Catholics into missionary disciples. According to him, “One is tempted to quickly note that in Lagos Archdiocese, we have witnessed a conscious systematic renewal of structures by the Archbishop since he assumed office, building on the enormous work of his predecessor, Cardinal Okogie; we have new guidelines, creation of more Deaneries and parishes, and a steady upgrade of personnel capacity. “Added to the pastoral initiatives of the Pope, is also the current call for Synodality in the universal Church.
The digital media has the capacity of actualising all these visions for renewed evangelisation as desired by the Pope and of advancing Synodality as it is meant to promote decentralization, the culture of dialogue, subsidiarity, collaboration and consultations among pastors and the faithful.” He pointed out that this new revolution of digital media is meant to bring about a synergy of pastoral initiatives in the dioceses, parishes and among all units of the body of Christ and are capable of helping pastors become more easily available to the people by enhancing his presence with the people beyond the physical encounter in the Church during Mass or other programmes. He said: “Consequently, if we are to build a synergy of pastoral initiatives in our dioceses, parishes and among all units of the body of Christ, the role of the media is indispensable since people are spending a huge part of their time in the digital arena. The implication is that because the Church has a mandate to people of and in all generations, it will be absent for very significant parts of peoples’ lives if it fails to be present in the digital space, owing to the fact that, no mistake about this, reality is today shaped not only by our concrete experiences, but more importantly by what is in the digital media.
The “digital is real” and the Church, to remain true to its mission, urgently needs a presence in this digital arena to reach out to the new form of social community, the netizens. On the approach to follow, he said: “The approach here is in two-folds: First is to expose us to the necessary connection between the Church and communications and highlight the mind or attitude of the Church towards the media as revealed through its teachings on media and communications. The second effort is to point us to some concrete ways the digital media can be helpful to us as pastors in our duties to the Church and the flock under our care.” According to him, “A common error we often make about the Church and communications is to assume that these are two separate entities. Many people think that communication is a separate entity or discipline that is merely borrowed or brought into the Church to be used or discarded at will. This is not correct!” He said the relationship between the Church and communication can be likened to that between fire and heat or sun and light.
“By its very nature and mission, the Church is communication and cannot exist without communication. The Church was born out of communication because according to W. Cannon, it is an extension in time of the incarnation. The incarnation is the fullness of God’s revelation of himself to humanity; The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14.). God communicates his love to us by becoming one of us, sharing our humanity, our pain, our trials, our sorrows, and taking our sins on himself, forgiving them all, and making a place for us with Jesus at the Father’s side. “At the fullness of time, God sent his only begotten son, born of a woman, a subject of the Law (Gal 4.4). Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est, wrote, “This love of God has appeared in our midst. He has become visible since He ‘has sent His Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him’ (1 John 4, 9).” (Benedict XVI, 2005:17). Thus, when Jesus proclaimed the great commission to his disciples to “Go ye and make disciples of all nations (Mark 16:15-16, Matt. 28: 16-20) he invoked a continuation, in corporate form, of his personal presence and his ministry and life-giving properties of his death and resurrection. The entire life of the Church is undisputedly about God revealing himself to humanity. Letter to the Hebrews says that in times past, God revealed himself through many forms, but in these days, he has spoken through his son (Heb. 1:1-2) Jesus is therefore the perfect communication of the Father. “
