Tips for Catholics on Social Media.
Tips for Catholics on Social Media.
By: Fr. Omokugbo Ojeifo.
1. Whenever you hear that the pope or any leader of your church has said something that sounds controversial, don’t just
Priests take snapshots before Pope Francis celebrates an open-air mass at Samanes Park in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 6, 2015. Pope Francis, in South America on a three-nation tour, will perform mass with more than a million faithful expected to attend -- many of whom camped out overnight. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO / AFP PHOTO / Vincenzo PINTO (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)
Tips for Catholics on Social Media.
By: Fr. Omokugbo Ojeifo.
1. Whenever you hear that the pope or any leader of your church has said something that sounds controversial, don’t just jump into the public foray. Go first and read the full transcript of what is said.
2. The world’s secular media are not neutral. They have their own ideological agendas to promote and execute. Be wary of that.
3. You’re not going to get correct information about your church or your faith from BBC or CNN or PUNCH Newspaper. Get that into your head.
4. If you want authentic information about your faith, check the Vatican website/news site or any other credible Catholic news platform. There are so many of them out there.
5. Many news media outlets especially on social media thrive on sensationalism. They’ll only abstract one or two lines from an entire document that feeds their sensational drive. Don’t provide the oxygen for their negative traffic/publicity.
6. Always take 1 Peter 3:15 to heart, “Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that you have.” Be prepared to defend your faith. But first know what you are defending. Learn it.
7. There’s nothing that the Catholic Church believes that cannot be explained or defended intelligibly. It is not a church of 1.3 billion people who are foolishly following the pope, as some people out there think. We have been here for 2,000 years. Remind them!
8. There is so much that has happened to the church from inception to date. But the church is still standing. If the church were not of God, it would have since collapsed. In fact, many are surprised that it is still standing.
9. Nothing and nobody can swamp the church. Empires and kingdoms have arisen to destroy the church. But those empires and kingdom and their emperors and kings are dead and long forgotten.
10. The church is by an ancient wisdom referred to as the “boat of Peter.” No matter how much water the boat takes in, it cannot sink. Why? Because Jesus is always in the boat of Peter (cf. Luke 5:3; Mk. 4:35-41). The gates of the underworld can never hold out against the church that is built on the rock of the Apostle Peter’s faith (cf. Matt. 16:18).
Relax! God is in control.
