New Media: We Can’t Afford To Be Left Behind – Archbishop Ndagoso
0
(Ndagoso)
NIGERIA –
The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna Diocese, Most Reverend Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, on Tuesday said, Catholics could not afford to be left behind in digital space.
He said, there is the need to raise awareness among all the departments in Catholic establishments especially in Kaduna, on effective use of social media to the advantage of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Archbishop, who was speaking during the 9th Kaduna Catholic Archdiocesan Pastoral Council General Assembly, held at Catholic social center, Kaduna, said, his leadership has understood that, majority of youths are on one social media platform or the other, hence, delibrate efforts to reach them and encourage them to the gospel advantage.
Talking about the theme of the assembly: “The Media in the service of the gospel”, he said, the theme was carefully selected as part of the action plan of the diocese for the year.
“The mass media has its own language and culture and that is why we just have to engage it. If we have to proclaim the gospel today since our youth are no longer in the context with us, we need to see how to use the context of mass and new media to reach millions of people spread all over.
“That is why we need to key into proclaim the gospel beyond the local churches. With social media, every Christian should be an apostle of the gospel because with a mobile phone, you can reach millions of people across the globe.
“So, instead of using the available social platforms wrongly, it can be used to promote peace gospel of Jesus Christ and that is why we chose the topic for this 9th assembly based on our action plan for the year”, he said.
Speaking on the topic, “the use of the media in promoting evangelization”, the resource person for the event, Rev. Fr. Dominic Adeiza, said, though the advent of internet has broken some communication barriers overtime, it is important to make judicious use of it to prevent spreading of disinformation, lies, rumours and fake news.
“Today, the reality of technology is here with us and we cannot shy away from the fact that our members too are massively involved. Even if we want to stop using social media in the church, we cannot stop them from using their mobile phones and that is why it is important we treat this topic at a gathering such as this”, he said.