People aren't flocking to churches, but they are on their devices. And that's where the message needs to be delivered, José Manuel De Urquidi told NCR Vatican correspondent Christopher White.

Urquidi is the founder of the Juan Diego Network which supports Catholic digital ministries to connect with Latinos.

During last fall's synod, Urquidi was one of a few voices who, over the course of the month-long summit, continually made the case that the internet is "a place of encounter" and that "it's not a tool, but rather a culture".

He advocated for the Church to adopt a missionary mindset towards the digital world, akin to the methodical approach of past evangelists.

Gone are the days of simply creating online content and hoping it resonates.

"We have never been afraid as a church for 20 centuries to be out there" said De Urquidi.

"You were sent on a mission, and who could know what would happen?"

For Urquidi, the church has always been aware that sending missionaries into new frontiers entails risks, including martyrdom.

"We've never been afraid of that" he said. "Why are we now afraid of the internet? What's the difference?"

Urquidi's message is direct: Like those earlier missionaries of centuries past, the digital space is "a place where we need to be. We need to learn the language and to engage".

Digital Synod

A network of "digital missionaries" is being formed.

Individuals with online followings utilise platforms like podcasts and social media to connect with others personally.

These are at the forefront of a new mission frontier.

The Church's digital mission gained momentum through initiatives like the "digital synod" spearheaded by Msgr Lucio Ruiz.

This effort mobilised over 2,000 "digital missionaries" to engage Catholics and non-Catholics alike. They amplified their voices in discussions about the Church's future.

This approach acknowledges that meeting people where they are comfortable is crucial.

While the ultimate goal may be guiding individuals towards a sacramental life, the Church understands the journey can involve many steps.

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

CathNews New Zealand

This divide, evident among a small minority of cardinals and bishops present (and not present) at the Extraordinary Assembly, has been recognized through their views on how to "pastorally" apply Catholic teaching regarding marriage, family and sexual relations.

It has also come to light that a so-called secret planning group, seemingly consisting of this small minority together with some theologians and journalists, has been meeting to discuss such progressively theological opinions before the October Synod of this year.

The Church, since her inception, has been forced to define, and at times reiterate, the objective truth of the Faith in relation to error, hence the deposit of Catholic doctrine which has guided her for nearly 2000 years.

Such definitions, in the face of error, have primarily been discussed and defined in Ecumenical Councils.

Due in part to the remarkable media attention the Synod of Bishops has received, the Synod's role in relation to Church teaching has become inflated and even exaggerated.

One of the primary guarantors and promoters of the true Faith is, and has always been, the College of Bishops (in communion with and under the Roman Pontiff) as ontologically always existing and governing the Body of Christ.

Indeed, the Second Vatican Council affirmed the three ways by which the Church can pronounce her teaching infallibly: through the College of Bishops spread throughout the world (when the Pope, having consulted all bishops' opinions regarding a topic, declares a particular dogma; for instance when Pope Pius XII declared the corporeal Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a dogma of the Faith in 1950); in an Ecumenical Council (in which the entirety of the College of Bishops, with and under the Pope, is present); and by the Pope ex cathedra.

With the upcoming Synod of Bishops pronounced by Pope Francis to discuss issues related to the family and evangelization, and with confused understandings of what a Synod is, even among Catholics, it seems very timely to look at how the Church has officially defined it and what power it actually holds according to her own law. Continue reading

Sources

• The Catholic World Report
• Image: Religion News Service