ACI Africa, Sep 22, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Members of the African Synodal Digital Youth Influencers who graduated recently from the African Digital Faith Influencers Formation program of the Pan African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) were told to “brace for the challenges that lie ahead of [them] in the digital peripheries [they] seek to evangelize.”
In his keynote address at the Sept. 12 graduation ceremony, Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah of Nigeria’s Diocese of Nsukka warned the 56 participants in the PACTPAN program of the complexities that exist in digital spaces.
Onah reminded the graduates that in the Church, the digital world is still at the periphery needing to be evangelized.
“Life at the periphery is not easy. There is no order. If you have experienced a slum in any city, then you will understand that evangelizing the periphery is not a joke,” he said.
“If we consider the digital world as the periphery for our evangelization, we should not expect the order we find in usual missionary spaces and structures. Part of that is the flexibility of the digital world.”
“We must be encouraged by St. Francis, who challenges us to move out from the center and get to the peripheries,” the bishop said.
PACTPAN’s Digital Faith Influencers Formation program began in February with more than 100 candidates who came from 52 African countries.
In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, following the graduation, Sister Josephine Bakhita, an official at PACTPAN’s “Church of Now” who coordinated the formation program, said that some candidates had to drop out of the program, which was solely online.
“Some of our students could not keep up with the classes owing to internet challenges and they had to drop out along the way. But a bigger percent of them managed to complete the training and unveil projects they will be engaging in in their dioceses and parishes,” Bakhita, of the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega, said in a Sept. 13 interview.
The PACTPAN course was designed to equip participants with skills to become faith champions among their peers living in what the facilitators of the program described as “digital peripheries.”
It was developed to empower young African leaders with the skills necessary to engage in digital evangelization, advocate for social justice, and provide impactful community service.
In his address at the graduation ceremony, Onah underlined the need to “reevangelize” digital peripheries, noting that the digital world “is driving modern culture.”
“Unless we Africans help shape the values that will be promoted by the digital world, we will end up being destroyed by those values,” the bishop said.
“Digital technologies have become very important,” he said, adding: “When we think we are lost in a corner where nobody will take note of us, digital technology throws us into the center of world attention, even in spite of ourselves. This is an indication to all of us that we can no longer take any of these things for granted; we are living in a new reality.”
Onah lauded organizers of the digital influencing formation program, noting that participants in the initiative had been prepared, empowered, and were ready to spread the Gospel.
Emphasizing Pope Francis’ message on reaching out to the peripheries, Onah expressed gratitude to the Holy Father, who he said is always encouraging the people of God to take new initiatives, not to just continue doing business as usual “but to explore new grounds even at the risk of being wounded.”
“We are reminded of the Holy Father saying that he prefers a Church that is soiled, dirtied, and wounded while ministering to people, especially in difficult areas, to a Church that remains clean and pure because it doesn’t dare to risk,” Onah said.
He added: “When we come before God, perhaps, we will present to him our clean hands, having done everything to prevent ourselves from being stained by the world. I may say, ‘Father, my hands are clean,’ but he will tell me, ‘Yes, they are clean, but they are also empty.’ It is a risky business, a business in which we may soil our hands, but it will definitely not be empty.”
Onah encouraged digital faith influencers, especially those who enjoy creating content, to accept being evangelized on digital platforms as well.
He said the digital world as “the recipient of evangelization” is subtle, adding: “My challenge to the graduates and to all of us in this digital era is not to just see the digital world as an instrument of evangelization, no matter how well we are able to use it, but as subjects needing to be evangelized.”
In his address at the graduation ceremony, the first assistant of the secretary-general of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Father Alfred Bebodu, challenged the students to amplify the voice of reason in digital spaces.
Bebodu lauded the young influencers for investing their hard work and dedication in completing eight months of training, saying: “Your commitment reflects the vibrancy of the Church in Africa, and it fills us with hope for the future.”
“You are now entrusted with great responsibility to be voices of faith and reason in the digital space, addressing not only spiritual matters but also social, economic, and environmental challenges facing our continent,” he said.
Bebodu reminded the graduates that the mission of SECAM has always been to promote evangelization and integral human development for all the people of God in Africa and its islands.
He said the young people’s role as “digital faith influencers” perfectly aligns with the mission of SECAM.
“As we prepare for the jubilee year, marking a significant milestone for the Church in Africa next year, we also look to the future with vision and commitment. One of the priorities for the next 25 years will be the integration of technology in evangelization,” he said.
The SECAM official warned the young faith influencers that the digital era is a sensitive one requiring careful study.
Digital technologies, he said, are tools that can either procure much success in helping evangelization or bring about destruction.
“Strategy comes [into] play,” Bebodu said, adding: “We envision platforms that will cultivate the hearts of the youths and broader communities fostering both spiritual growth and social cohesion. Your creativity, knowledge, and passion will be instrumental in realizing this vision.”
This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
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Africa surprises with what I would have presumed the US for example would have sought to engage clergy as ‘digital influencers’ in the vast internet world. Their bishops are thinking ‘out of the box’ so to speak in making innovative inroads into an enormous world in which the greater majority participate. A breeding ground for good or for evil. It gives recognition to the importance of Catholic websites. However, solo branching out into the wilds of the media Facebook, X poses real challenges for the internet missionary training, an important preparation. But the fields are ripe for harvest.