Fathers, let’s be blunt, many of us priests are becoming too noisy on social media! We chase headlines, hunt gist, and sometimes forget that our vocation is not to be trend-breakers but disciple-makers.
In the bid to go viral, we risk losing values. Go valuable, not viral. And hear this: if people fear that their wounds will become your next post, they will bleed in silence. You are a priest, not a reporter!
The Church has spoken clearly: “Priests must exercise great prudence in the use of mass media” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13). Ministry is sacred, don’t trade it for internet traffic. Guard souls, don’t expose them. Heal wounds, don’t headline them. Be a safe place, not a loud platform. Be generous, but drop the camera.
Confidentiality is not optional, it is sacred. Our endless chatter online makes some wonder if we can even keep the seal of confession. Dear brothers, remember what Pastores Dabo Vobis (no. 26) says: the priest is configured to Christ, the Good Shepherd, called to “make present Christ the Head and Shepherd.” How then can the shepherd become a gossiper of his flock? Why is the Shepherd, so abusive?
To our dear followers: don’t applaud scandal as entertainment. Don’t applaud aberrations as devotion, dont mistake our social media presence for excellence or faithfulness in ministry. There are many faithful priests who are not on this platform, just as many others have used their talents, pages, and followers to build lives. Let us not twist or undermine the values they are upholding.
Again, inasmuch as you continue to attend masses online know that it is never an alternative. In a Letter addressed to the Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences, Cardinal Sarah insists that “virtual” services cannot compare to, and cannot replace, personal participation in the liturgy. Rise and do the right thing.
Dear brothers, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications warns in Ethics in Internet (2002) that “the internet should be used responsibly, respecting the dignity of persons and the common good.” Followers if you celebrate our “cho cho”, you become accomplices in our digital sins.
In an age of monetization, fueling everyday anomalies and aberrations, DIOCESAN GUIDELINES ARE URGENTLY NEEDED to help regulate priests’ online presence. Media houses/journalists have regulatory bodies. Priests online needs one. The mass is not a content. Adoration is not a content.
Every other day brings a press release from a Diocese or Archdiocese explaining and disclaiming certain behaviours. These press releases will continue exponentially if stringent rules are not implemented to curb our excesses.
We must be men of the altar, not clowns of the algorithm; heralds of the Gospel, not hunters of likes.
#witnessline
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
