(RVA News): “If you are an influencer, ask what influences you… If the one influencing you is Jesus and the gospel, go right ahead and influence other people through this social media, which is a world in itself, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said to Filipino delegates at the 37th World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, on August 3.
Cardinal Tagle, the prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, spoke of the need for young people to avoid manipulative and controlling false influencers by imitating bishops and priests who are good examples.
“Influencers should lead by example and invite bishops, priests, religious, and young people into the fertile ground of ministry and mission in the digital world,” Cardinal Tagle said.
The cardinal reminded young Catholics that every evangeliser must first be motivated by Jesus and his gospel. Their influence comes from a personal relationship with Christ. Catholic influencers may change the digital world and combat false goals by following Jesus’ teachings.
“Let’s learn how to influence, there are different types of influence; others will be influenced through persuasion or attraction. You influence others because you are presenting something attractive, while others influence you by imposing authority,” the cardinal said.
Catholic influencers can contribute to a world that is characterised by harmony, community, and respect for diversity by sharing the teachings of Jesus
Cardinal Tagle
As the digital world is a densely populated space where everyone resides, Cardinal Tagle urges the young people of the Philippines to disseminate Jesus’ influence on social media.
“This influence encompasses truth, justice, care for the earth, and compassion for fellow human beings,” the cardinal said, adding that “Catholic influencers can contribute to a world that is characterised by harmony, community, and respect for diversity by sharing the teachings of Jesus.”
He said, “We are all inhabitants, residents of the digital world. A world that is heavily populated, and all of us inhabit that world. Please, dear young people of the Philippines, spread the influence of Jesus—the influence of truth, justice, caring for the earth, caring for fellow human beings—in the world called social media.”
A Catholic official in the Philippines estimated that 1,500 Filipino pilgrims travelled to Lisbon, Portugal, for this year’s World Youth Day, the world’s largest gathering of young Catholics.
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Father Jade Licuanan, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Youth, reported that the commission’s delegation alone reached nearly 300 participants.
The number of pilgrims exceeded the number of ECY delegates who attended the 2019 WYD in Panama, which was only 99.
“The reliable data is with the local organising committee in Portugal, but our estimate is between 1,500 and 2,000 pilgrims coming from the Philippines,” Licuanan said, as cited by CBCP News.
