Panel: Catholic influencers are blessings, not 'brands,' sharing the Good News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic influencers and online content creators are called to be authentic witnesses to their faith, and to build communities open to dialogue and truth, not to build "religious ghettoes," echo chambers or propaganda-machines, said a series of speakers.

In fact, digital spaces and discourse will be instrumental in fostering a more synodal and missionary church because of the internet's global reach and its possibilities for collaboration, some speakers said during a morning event opening the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers July 28. The July 28-29 Jubilee was part of the larger Jubilee of Youth, which was running to Aug. 3.

More than 1,000 "influencers" and digital missionaries from more than 70 countries registered for the series of talks in Rome's Auditorium Conciliazione July 28 and for the spiritual, ecumenical and cultural events in Rome and at the Vatican June 29.

Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary for the Vatican's Dicastery for Culture and Education, told the influencers, "You are not a brand, you are a blessing."

"Your profile is not a shop's window display, it is a possible place of encounter, of wounds, of healing, of shared tears, of stubborn hope, of provocations that make you think, of silences full of expectation," he said.

"You don't have to sell yourself," he said. "You just have to let yourself be moved by what dwells within you and offer a possible glimmer of light."

That is why all content creators must be careful about two things, Father Spadaro said.

"The first is that sometimes we run the risk of thinking that a post works if it is somehow 'sexy'" or demonstrates a "physique du rôle," that is, a specific role or persona usually associated with acting or performance, he said.

"There is no such thing as a Catholic 'physique du rôle,'" he said to applause. That is just a display of power -- "the power of attraction, in whatever form, which always risks being seductive and thus nullifying the very message that one intends to communicate in good faith."

The second challenge is to understand that Christian witness is not demonstrated by "bombarding people with religious messages," he said. "No, that's just indoctrination, just ideologization."

Christian witness is living Christ's teachings, he said. "The Gospel does not ask us to have followers, it asks us to be brothers and sisters to all, that is, to create fraternity."

"You are called to build digital communities, not religious ghettos, not Catholic bubbles, but spaces for encounter," he said.

"Being a Christian online today means being in the places of real life, even the hard, dirty, tiring places, not fleeing from complexity, not shouting slogans, not looking for enemies to feel strong, but welcoming, understanding, creating bonds," he said.

Kim Daniels, the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University and a member of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communications, led a panel via live video link-up. As coordinator of a special study group focused on "the mission in the digital environment" within the synod on synodality, she shared some of the group's findings.

The digital environment "is a true mission territory where people are genuinely searching for God and expressing deep spiritual needs," she said.

"Among other things, the digital mission is an expression of the church's social mission," she said. "When we reach out through digital platforms to accompany the isolated, to give voice to the voiceless, to create spaces of authentic encounter, we are living out the preferential option for the poor in new ways."

Also, "the digital environment naturally fosters elements of synodality, listening, participation, shared responsibility," she said.

"This is why leadership in the digital age is not merely about mastering new technologies, but also about fostering a certain kind of culture, one that respects human dignity, promotes authentic encounter and witnesses to the truth in love," she added.

Xavière Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, said, "to live the mission of the church in this digital culture today means and requires being a synodal church."

The "digital culture is also a gift to help us move forward in the reception of the Second Vatican Council, that is today, synodality," she said.

That is why Catholics with a consistent presence online have "a very, very important role to play" in the current implementation phase of the synod, she said.

However, Sister Becquart said, synodality requires individuals to listen and discern together. While online content usually has to be posted quickly, they must still find a way to be part of "a pastoral team, a missionary team with your local church" to help guide them.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, gave the opening address July 28, saying the focus must not be on digital or communication "strategies," but on how people are present in digital spaces.

One's online presence, he said, must be just like in physical spaces, "imbued with humanity, a witness to evangelical life and a willingness to dialogue, listen and walk with others."

"In this sense, what is at stake is not so much the effectiveness of content, but the church's ability to witness to God's closeness in an environment that can be impersonal or frenetic, often permeated with hatred, fake news and falsehoods," he said.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, a pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, which is organizing the different Jubilees during the Holy Year, said, "Today's world does not listen to influencers, it listens to witnesses, and if it listens to influencers, it is because they are witnesses."

That means they must remember they are "instruments of God's grace," he said, and "we proclaim the Gospel to inspire faith," which comes from listening.

"Paradoxical as it may seem -- because we want to load up on words, we want to be the spokesperson -- we must be able to help others discover the importance of listening in this dialogue, and we truly, really and effectively listen when listening is rooted in silence, he said.

Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, told the audience that the best guide for not losing their way is never to isolate themselves and always be part of their church community, "having one heart and one soul."

"Never turn the community into the audience and the audience into a commodity, ending up becoming a commodity ourselves," he said. "Our faith is not individualistic, much less consumerist, but it is communal."