The first session of the Synod on Synodality (October 2023) provided an opportunity to open the door to a new ‘digital continent’ and the nascent mission of the Church in that context. According to Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., this novelty was embraced with delight and support by many delegates.
In an article published in several international newspapers, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development reflects on the value and significance of communication today, starting from the essay Method in Theology by the Jesuit philosopher Bernard Lonergan.
Lonergan's thought, according to the Cardinal, helps us understand the change generated by the ‘digital continent,’ now present in everyone's life, “in the way that we conceive reality and relate to ourselves, to each other, to the environment around us, and also to God.”
This requires radically new forms of mission. Therefore, as we read in the article, to develop this emerging pastoral ministry, the Holy Father has ordered “the establishment of a Study Group to study in depth the implications of digital mission at the theological, spiritual, and canonical levels.”
And indeed, in the Synthesis Report of the first session of the Synod, you can find a special section entitled ‘Missionaries in the digital environment’ (SR 17). As if in dialogue with Lonergan, the Synod states that the Church is ready “to carry out the Church’s mission in the digital environment.”
Below you can also find an infographic that aims to illustrate what ‘digital mission’ is.