A Catholic parish in the central Philippine city of Tacloban has recently trained young people to become “cyber-missionaries” amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our goal is to bring God in all our posts,” said Sister Praxedes Paloma of the Paulines Media Center during the media and evangelization conference on July 19.
“Remember that behind it all, God is the one working with us. It is God’s mission and we are the collaborator,” she told the participants.
The Our Mother of Perpetual Help parish in Tacloban City thought of the idea with the realization that “pandemic poses a challenge to the whole Church.”
Redemptorist priest Edwin Bacaltos said that with the pandemic that Church’s social media apostolate “has to be given importance and strengthened.”
He said the aim is to continue the work of evangelization “via different media platforms and reach out to many people.”
On July 19, at least eight young men and women, comprising the Redemptorist Media Ministry, underwent a basic course on online writing, photography, and video production.
Father Chris Arthur Militante, information and social communications director of the Archdiocese of Palo, reminded the “cyber-missionaries” to be careful of “false news.”
He urged the young men and women to ensure the accuracy of the information they post on social media.
Sister Paloma reminded the participants to always come up with interesting content to catch the attention of people.
Filipinos are known as the world’s number one social media users who spend an average of four hours and 12 minutes online daily.
About 76 million of its 108 million population are known to be active social media users, mostly on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
