Evangelization Courses on Digital Media in Sri Lanka
Almost 70 percent of the approximately 22 million people in Sri Lanka are Buddhist, while Catholics number somewhere around 1.45 million – and roughly half of them live in the Archdiocese of Colombo. This number includes about 150,000 young people.
Like young people everywhere in the world, these youngsters are also fascinated by social media and artificial intelligence. And so this is increasingly becoming a topic that the Church has to and wants to engage with, since it involves many ethical and moral problems as well, yet at the same time has great potential for evangelization. Father Jude Chrysantha Fernando, a priest in the Archdiocese of Colombo with responsibility for matters relating to social media, explains: “The digital world is neither good nor bad in itself. It can be good so long as it is used for the benefit of society. Yet there is a danger that journalistic professionalism and the credibility of the information media can be undermined. And individuals can also be damaged in their human dignity and personal reputation as a result. At the same time, the holiness of the Catholic Church can be tarnished as a result. Young people are easily fooled by these creative video clips, and so it is important that we train our young people and show them how to use these media in a positive and fruitful manner.“
Moreover, the modern media can even be a valuable resource for evangelizing people in the modern world, Father Fernando says, “The Catholic Church has acted very wisely in being the first in history to make use of modern technologies such as the printed media and radio. Hence we must also make the best possible use of these digital technologies. Since most people in our society own a smartphone today, it is easy to spread the Gospel message via the social media.”
However, in order to use these media in a way that truly serves evangelization, young people need to be solidly grounded in this field and also made aware of the moral dilemmas involved. The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has also written to us: “Our young people need to be trained in order to become ethically conscious journalists who can employ the modern technologies on the basis of the Church‘s teaching and in line with with the Year of Renewal, which we are currently celebrating in our parishes.”
And so the Archdiocese of Colombo is planning to offer 16-day courses for up to 400 young people as part of their training in ethical journalism. These courses will be run by Catholic journalists and university professors, and the participants will subsequently work in the parishes of the archdiocese, passing on what they have learned to other young people. The overall aim is to train a generation of Catholic media specialists who will exercise a positive influence on the media landscape of the country and, through it, on society as a whole.
We are planning to support this excellent project with a contribution of $8,783. Will you join us?
312-07-49