By Justin Chukwunonso Akubuilo, Fordham University
1.0 Introduction
The Church is, by her very nature, missionary. From the first proclamation of the Gospel to the present age, she is continually sent to the ends of the earth to bear witness to the Truth, proclaim salvation in Jesus Christ, and shepherd souls into communion with God. Throughout history, this mission has encountered shifting landscapes—political, cultural, intellectual, and now digital.
Every era has had its own Areopagus, its public square where worldviews clash and ideas circulate. In today’s world, media—in all its forms—is the dominant Areopagus. It is both a platform and a power, shaping minds, cultures, and even moral frameworks. The Church stands at a pivotal juncture: will she retreat or rise? Will she cede to the narrative or shape it?
In the 20th century, Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen harnessed the media of his time—radio and television—to great effect. He once observed, “There are not 100 people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing.” (1) His words remain strikingly relevant today, as widespread misunderstanding of Catholicism persists—now spread not by leaflets or lectures, but by viral posts, memes, and algorithms.
This article seeks to reflect on the Church’s relationship with media—its historical tensions, current involvement, and urgent need to embrace it more fully and visibly, especially to reach and form today’s youth.
2.0 From Areopagus to Algorithms: The Church and Media through the Ages
The relationship between the Church and media has evolved over centuries. In earlier times, the Church exercised control over publishing and public discourse. The printing press, for example, became a double-edged sword—first enabling the dissemination of Church teaching, and then, as in the Reformation, catalyzing deep division. (2)
By the 19th and 20th centuries, the world began to accelerate through industrial, technological, and scientific revolutions. New forms of communication—newspapers, radio, film—began to challenge the Church’s traditional methods of evangelization. At times, this prompted a defensive or even suspicious stance from Church authorities, wary of losing control over the message or succumbing to secular ideologies. (3)
This tension deepened with the rise of modernism, the Enlightenment critique of religion, and the push by secular philosophers and intellectuals to “liberate” society from what they saw as the oppressive grip of faith. (4) The Church, often painted as archaic or repressive, became a frequent target of caricature and propaganda.
In this climate, the media increasingly became a battlefield of ideas—where the Church was often misrepresented or sidelined. Nevertheless, since media is already depicted as a battlefield, the Church can always win from her own end, if she fights well and courageously.
2.1 Media: A Tool That Serves Both Ends of the Spectrum
Modern media is a paradox. On one hand, it has democratized information, enabling access to knowledge at an unprecedented scale. On the other hand, it has fostered confusion, misinformation, and fragmentation. (5) In a world where attention is the currency, truth often becomes the casualty.
While traditional gatekeepers of information (like newspapers or academia) once filtered content with some degree of editorial responsibility, today’s digital platforms are driven by engagement metrics. The more sensational, divisive, or emotionally charged a piece of content is, the more likely it is to spread.
For the Church, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is clear: the digital environment is often hostile to religion and reflection. Simplistic or malicious portrayals of Catholic teaching are amplified, and scandals are highlighted while the ordinary beauty of the Church’s mission remains invisible.
But the opportunity is equally great: media can also be a pulpit, a classroom, and a forum. Used wisely and creatively, it can bear fruit far beyond what any missionary on foot could achieve.
2.2 The Church’s Growing Media Footprint
In recent decades, the Church has made significant strides in engaging with media:
Vatican documents like Inter Mirifica (1963), the Decree on the Means of Social Communication from Vatican II, laid a foundation for understanding the moral and pastoral responsibilities of media use. (6)
Furthermore, successive popes have embraced the importance of media. Pope St. John Paul II, himself a former actor and playwright, embraced radio, television, and later the internet. He recognized their potential to evangelize and called them “the modern Areopagus.” (7) Pope Benedict XVI reflected deeply on the ethical dimensions of digital communication, emphasizing truth and responsibility. Under his leadership, the Vatican launched its Twitter account, @Pontifex. Pope Francis has continued this trajectory, using social media to great effect. His simple, pastoral tone resonates with millions. He has also endorsed initiatives such as the “Rome Call for AI Ethics”, emphasizing the need for human dignity to remain central in technological progress. (8)
At the diocesan and grassroots levels, many parishes, dioceses, and religious communities now livestream Masses, host podcasts, manage YouTube channels, and run digital catechesis programs. Religious influencers, theologians, and Catholic creatives are building platforms that reach far beyond traditional Church spaces.
3.0 The Missing Link: A Unified, Strategic Media Mission
Despite these efforts, something essential is still missing: a coordinated, strategic, and visible media presence from the Church that proactively engages the world—not reactively, not sporadically, but with vision and vigor.
Currently, much of the Church’s media presence is decentralized and passive. We respond to scandals rather than set the narrative. We comment after the damage has been done, rather than preemptively shaping thought. Thus, there is a pressing need for:
I. A Global Catholic Media Network: Though Mother Angelica with her team of Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) staff is doing a good work in this regard, (9) nevertheless, a robust, professionally staffed media platform (or network of platforms) that creates content on theology, spirituality, social issues, and culture—reaching both believers and seekers. It should: address trending topics from a Catholic worldview; create high-quality documentaries, interviews, debates, and storytelling; and finally be visually appealing and algorithm-savvy to compete in digital spaces.
II. A Media Formation for Seminarians, Religious, and Lay Apostolates: Just as future priests are trained in theology and liturgy, they must also be trained in media literacy and communication. Religious orders and lay apostolates should be empowered to evangelize through podcasts, short-form videos, and digital storytelling.
III. Investment in Catholic Digital Creatives: Support must be given to Catholic filmmakers, musicians, writers, and influencers who are evangelizing online. These creators often work in isolation or struggle financially. A patronage system or fund could sustain this vital mission. Also, movies about the lives of saints could be funded to be free and easily accessible like other secular movies.
IV. Youth-Focused Evangelization: Today’s young people live online. They form their worldview from TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram before they encounter the Catechism. The Church must not only be present in these spaces but must also speak the language of the culture without diluting the truth.
4.0 A Vision for the Future: Turning the Tide
The Church is not called to nostalgia or lament, but to prophetic engagement. Jesus entered into the world, not as a distant voice from heaven, but as the Word made flesh who dwelt among us. Likewise, the Church must enter into the digital world incarnationally, not as a reluctant guest but as a confident, loving mother with something essential to say. This means not only transmitting messages, but building genuine relationships through media. It means being willing to listen, accompany, and engage, not just preach. It requires transparency, authenticity, and beauty—qualities the modern world is hungry for, and which the Gospel possesses in abundance.
5.0 Conclusion: Toward a Vatican III and Beyond
If ever there were a theme worthy of deep discernment in a future Vatican III, it is this: The Church in the Digital Age. Not as an afterthought or a passing concern, but as a central issue that profoundly shapes how the Church fulfills her mission in the 21st century. The call before us is not simply to update our technology or launch more digital projects—it is to renew our missionary zeal, rekindled in the Spirit of Pentecost and guided by the wisdom of the Church’s tradition, so that the Gospel may be heard anew amid the noise of the digital world.
The first apostles did not wait for people to come to them. They went out. They entered marketplaces, synagogues, homes, and yes, the Areopagus of Athens—where they encountered a pluralistic world full of curiosity, skepticism, and longing. Today, the Areopagus has gone digital. It is no longer a single public square, but a network of ever-moving platforms, social media, streaming sites, search engines, forums, and feeds. It is noisy, fragmented, polarized, and fast, but it is also the place where millions dwell—searching, scrolling, commenting, and consuming. It is the new meeting place of humanity. And if that is where the people are, then that is where the Church must be.
When Jesus walked the earth, He did not stay in one place and wait for seekers to find Him. He moved. He met His disciples in their daily lives—in fishing boats, tax booths, homes, and on dusty roads. He encountered Zacchaeus not in the Temple, but up in a sycamore tree (Luke 19:1-10), speaking directly to his longing heart. He met the woman at the well, the sick on the roadside, and the mourners at gravesides. He entered into people’s spaces, broke through their barriers, and transformed their lives.
This is the pattern for the Church. Not a static institution, but a pilgrim people, sent forth to meet humanity where it lives—including now in its digital expressions. We must become incarnational in our online presence, not merely posting doctrines, but embodying the beauty, truth, and mercy of Christ through creativity, conversation, and compassion.
Let us not delay. The digital mission field is vast, and the hunger is real. Young people, especially, are forming their worldviews not in classrooms or churches, but on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Google. They are grappling with questions of identity, purpose, morality, and meaning—often in silence, often alone, and often misled. If the Church is not present in these spaces with clarity, empathy, and conviction, then other voices will fill the void—and many already have.
The tools are ready. The technology exists. The Spirit is willing. The only question is whether we will respond—not with fear or nostalgia, but with courage, humility, and hope. For the Word is still alive. The Gospel is still powerful. And the Church, if she dares to step boldly into the digital Areopagus, may yet find that the nets cast into these deep waters will come back overflowing.
Footnotes
1 Fulton J. Sheen, The Life of Christ (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1958), 1.
2 Elizabeth Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 3–5.
3 John W. O’Malley, What Happened at Vatican II (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2008), 46.
4 Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007), 25–30.
5 Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (New York: Penguin Press, 2015), 12.
6 Vatican II, Inter Mirifica, 1963, Vatican.va, https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19631204_inter-mirifica_en.html (accessed May 14, 2025).
7 Pope John Paul II, “Message for the 36th World Communications Day,” May 12, 2002. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/communications/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_20020124_world-communications-day.html (accessed May 15, 2025).
8 Vatican News, “Pope Francis Endorses Rome Call for AI Ethics,” February 28, 2020. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2020-02/pope-francis-endorse-rome-call-for-ai-ethics.html (accessed May 15, 2025).
9 Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles (New York: Doubleday, 2005), 219.
Bibliography
Arroyo, Raymond. Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles. New York: Doubleday, 2005.
Eisenstein, Elizabeth. The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
John Paul II. “Message for the 36th World Communications Day.” May 12, 2002. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/communications/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_20020124_world-communications-day.html (accessed May 15, 2025).
O’Malley, John W. What Happened at Vatican II. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2008.
Sheen, Fulton J. The Life of Christ. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1958.
Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.
Turkle, Sherry. Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. New York: Penguin Press, 2015.
Vatican II. Inter Mirifica (Decree on the Means of Social Communication). December 4, 1963. Vatican.va. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/ vat-ii_decree_19631204_inter-mirifica_en.html (accessed May 14, 2025).
Vatican News. “Pope Francis Endorses Rome Call for AI Ethics.” February 28, 2020. https:// www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2020-02/pope-francis-endorse-rome-call-for-ai- ethics.html (accessed May 15, 2025).
This essay followed the prompt: You are a representative at the Third Vatican Council and have 1,500-2,500 words to explain an issue that you believe needs utmost attention in the Church today. What will you say to the Council Fathers?