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Let’s “invest” in Digitality: Rome-based Priest Challenges Africa’s Church Leaders to Grow Digital Evangelization Budget

Fr. Joel Nkongolo. Credit: ACI Africa

Catholic Church leaders in Africa need to spearhead evangelization through contemporary means of communication by investing in digitality, a Rome-based Priest involved in communication has said.

In an interview with ACI Africa on the sidelines of the January 22-24 biennial professional seminar for Church communication offices that the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome organized, Fr. Joel Nkongolo emphasized the need for Church leaders in Africa to increase budges for digital evangelization.

“The message I’d give to the Catholic Church in Africa, knowing that we also have a mission for the Universal Church, is to invest in the contemporary means of communication,” Fr. Nkongolo said during the Wednesday, January 22 interview in Rome.

Fr. Joel Nkongolo. Credit: ACI Africa

He underscored the urgency of embracing digitality as a means of evangelization in Africa and beyond, noting that the influence social media has on youths on the continent provides an opportunity for digital faith sharing and that such apostolate requires strategy and a budget.

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Catholic Bishops in Africa and those at the helm of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL) on the continent, Fr. Nkongolo said, “must know” that digital media offer opportunities to reach a significant congregation “today and that they cannot be overlooked or undermined.”

“Whether it is in the material means or accompaniment, we must get involved,” the Congolese member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CMF), who coordinates communication in his Religious Order from Rome told ACI Africa.

“If they do not prioritize the media in the evangelization mission by having a significant budget, we will not be able to evangelize,” the native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) warned, emphasizing his appeal to Church leaders in Africa to invest in digital evangelization.

Fr. Joel Nkongolo. Credit: ACI Africa

A representative cross section of Catholic communicators, journalists and media professionals is gathering in Rome for three conferences organized in the context of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

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Besides the professional seminar for Church communication offices that the Pontifical University of Holy Cross organized in collaboration with the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the Vatican City is also hosting the Global jubilee conference with Religious Sisters, and the jubilee of the world of communications in the January 22-26 period.

The international Conference for Catholic Institutional Communicators, who include Presidents of Episcopal Communication Commissions and Directors of National Communication Offices in Catholic Bishops’ Conferences has been scheduled to take place from January 27-29 in closed-door sessions.

Fr. Joel Nkongolo. Credit: ACI Africa

In the January 22 interview with ACI Africa, Fr. Nkongolo noted that the Catholic Church in Africa is lagging far behind other mainstream faith groups on engaging digital media in her evangelization mission.

“Some of our Christian brothers and other religions have already made progress,” he said referring to initiatives in digital evangelization, and added, “The Pentecostals have already advanced; they use a lot of digital means.”

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For him, the Church in Africa must embrace the digital reality. “We must not wait for young people to come to the church; we must go to them through the telephone,” Fr. Nkongolo said.

“The youth already listen to the Gospel. But do they listen to the teaching that must be listened to as Catholics?” he posed and continued, “This is the presence we must accentuate in Africa. If we do not, other Christian groups and religions, which have already advanced in using digital means like television and social media, will continue to dominate.”

The Rome-based CMF member underscored the importance of taking bold steps in embracing digital evangelization despite the potential risks.

“Let’s not be afraid to throw ourselves into this digital space; let’s go and learn to evangelize,” he said, adding, “We cannot wait to be perfectly ready before we start; we will learn through this apostolate.” 

Fr. Nkongolo went on to highlight Africa's current unique place in Catholicism as the "spiritual lung of the Church," an expression that Pope Benedict XVI used to describe the vitally important role the Church in Africa can play for the Universal Church.  

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“Africa, which is seen as the hope of the Catholic Church in the world, holds great potential. The future is in youths, and youths today are present on social media,” the doctoral student at Claretianum told ACI Africa on January 22.

Fr. Joel Nkongolo. Credit: ACI Africa

Recalling the presentation that Fr. Paul-Adrien d’Hardemare had just made on the topic, “Turning dogmatic speech about sensitive issues into popular prediction (what I have discovered thanks to my YouTube channel”, Fr. Nkongolo said that the principle of love for the people of God guiding social media engagement is of paramount importance.

“First, it is love … When we do not go there out of love, for God and for the people we want to evangelize, we will not be able to do this work,” he said, recalling the emphasis the French member of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans/OP) made on the need for digital evangelizers to be rooted in faith in the person of Jesus Christ and His commandment of love.

In his presentation, Fr. Paul-Adrien had said that the first ministry of Clergy and women and men Religious “shouldn't really be on social media, but the pastoral experience, with the people of God as they go through the joys and challenges of their respective lives.”

“You have to be clear with your faith beliefs on the truth of our Christian/Catholic faith,” he had emphasized in his presentation at the three-day conference set to conclude on January 24, the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, with Holy Mass in commemoration of the Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church, who is the Patron Saint of the Catholic press, journalists, and writers.

It is important Christian faith guides what we share on digital media, Fr. Nkongolo told ACI Africa, and warned that that engaging digital media devoid of faith principles exposes one to risks in our world that is like a “forest, where there are even wolves … You can slip and go down the wrong path.”

ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.