MANILA — Catholic digital missionaries should see themselves not as online influencers but as “leaders of communion” who build relationships and collaborate with others, a Vatican communications official said.

Natasa Govekar, director of the theological-pastoral department of the Dicastery for Communication, made the call Sept. 11 during the first-ever Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly at the Radio Veritas Asia headquarters in Fairview, Quezon City.

She urged participants to make collaboration and relationship-building central to their digital mission, saying Christian influence cannot be measured by follower counts or audience size.

“We should take our influence seriously,” Govekar said. “It’s urgent then to learn that together, as a community and not as individuals.”

She grounded her message in Communio et Progressio, a Church document on social communication that presents Christ as the “Perfect Communicator” and describes communication as “the giving of self in love.”

For Govekar, Catholic digital communication should ultimately help people encounter and live the Gospel rather than simply attract attention online.

“Fruitfulness comes from daring to share the vision and hope,” she said.

Technology must serve people

Govekar said the principle of communication as an act of self-giving remains important as artificial intelligence and other technologies rapidly reshape how people interact.

“No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil,” she said.

Technology should serve human encounter and the Church’s mission rather than replace them, she added.

The challenge for digital missionaries, according to her, is to use new technologies while preserving the human relationships at the heart of Christian communication.

Collaboration as discipleship

Govekar cited the Vatican’s “Faith Communication in the Digital World” program as an example of how collaboration can strengthen Catholic communications.

The program brings together 16 young Catholic communications professionals each year for 11 months of online formation, workshops, projects and residential training in Rome.

Working across cultures, time zones and professional backgrounds can be difficult, Govekar said, but those challenges also help shape participants and deepen relationships.

“The most important outcome of this project is not the final product,” she said. “But the process, relationships.”

The program now emphasizes continued accompaniment, with tutors supporting participants after formal training ends.

“This is why I call it discipleship,” Govekar said.

She urged Asian digital missionaries to develop collaborative models suited to their own communities rather than simply copy existing programs.

“What we try to do internationally can be replicated, but not in the same way,” she said.

MANILA — The digital world is a ‘new mission territory’ where people already live, work and search for meaning, a Philippine archbishop said Saturday.

Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon of Caceres urged Catholic digital missionaries across Asia to bring the Gospel into online spaces with discernment, critical thinking and a strong sense of community.

“The new mission territory is not the seas, not the air, but the digital sphere,” Alarcon said. “Not a parallel world, but a world where we live in. We are already there.”

Alarcon, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Communications, spoke during Mass on the second day of the first Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly at Radio Veritas Asia headquarters in Quezon City.

The Sept. 11-13 gathering brings together Catholic digital missionaries, communicators and content creators from across Asia to reflect on the Church’s mission in an increasingly digital culture.

Alarcon said digital spaces have become places where people form opinions, build relationships, encounter information and search for meaning, making them part of everyday human life.

He warned that rapid technological change, particularly artificial intelligence, raises new ethical questions and should not replace human judgment.

“We are now outsourcing our intelligence,” Alarcon said, urging digital missionaries not to “relegate our thinking to the machines.”

He called for “critical feeling,” which he described as recognizing emotions while allowing reflection and discernment to guide responses to online content.

Social media can quickly trigger anger, fear, outrage, admiration, envy or amusement, he said, challenging Christians to consider whether their online presence leads people toward truth and compassion.

But digital mission should not focus only on influence, followers or content, Alarcon said. It should also help build communities rooted in Christian faith.

“An invitation for us is not only to influence others, but also to form communities,” he said. “We are called to be a Church.”

The assembly ends Sunday with a Mass to be presided over by Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.

MANILA — Social media can draw people toward the Catholic faith, but its ultimate purpose should be to lead them into Christian community and the Eucharist, a Philippine bishop told Asian digital missionaries.

“Social media is an appetizer; Eucharist is the destination,” said Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr., chairman of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences – Office of Social Communication, during the first Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly on Sept. 11.

Speaking to more than 100 Catholic digital missionaries, communicators and influencers, he urged them to see digital platforms as entry points to faith rather than destinations for online engagement.

“The debate is over. The Church is already there,” Maralit said, noting that people across Asia already turn to digital spaces to seek meaning, build relationships and explore faith.

He challenged missionaries to move beyond views, likes, followers and viral content, saying digital evangelization should focus instead on listening, encounter, discernment and community.

“Open the door and present the thread,” he said, urging participants to use their online presence to lead people toward Christ rather than build personal brands.

Maralit contrasted the attention economy of social media, which rewards speed, novelty and controversy, with the Gospel’s call to patience, compassion, closeness and transformation.

He called for five shifts in digital mission: from content to encounter, audiences to communities, virality to fidelity, competition to collaboration, and influence to witness.

Credibility, he said, should come not primarily from audience size or production quality but from fidelity to Christ and the authenticity of Christian life.

The challenge is especially significant in Asia, which the bishop described as a “living symphony” of cultures, languages, religions and social realities that requires dialogue and sensitivity.

“The digital highways are waiting,” he said, urging the missionaries to defend human dignity and share stories of faith across Asia’s online spaces.

The goal, he said, is for people online to encounter not merely another influencer but “a true community, and ultimately, the living face of Jesus Christ.”

The Sept. 10-13 assembly, hosted by Radio Veritas Asia with the FABC-OSC and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, brings together Catholic digital missionaries, communicators and content creators under the theme “Influencers to Witnesses: Synodal Way for Digital Mission in Asia.”

MANILA — Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle urged Catholic digital missionaries across Asia to begin their mission not with what they post online, but with a deeper relationship with Jesus.

In a video message to the Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly, he reminded delegates that those who influence others are themselves shaped by the people and experiences around them.

“My appeal to you, dear digital missionaries, be aware of what and who influences you,” Tagle said, urging them to make Jesus a central influence in their lives.

“Having experienced the transforming influence of Jesus in your life, you will bear authentic, true, genuine witness to others,” he said.

Tagle encouraged the missionaries to deepen their relationship with Jesus through prayer and study, saying, “So, pray well, study well.”

The pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization also urged them to let Christ’s light shine through their digital presence.

“Let Jesus and his light shine forth by being an influence in his name,” Tagle said.

More than 100 Catholic digital missionaries, communicators and influencers from across Asia are attending the assembly, which runs through Sept. 13 at Radio Veritas Asia headquarters in Quezon City.

The assembly is organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences Office of Social Communications and RVA, in partnership with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication.

The gathering carries the theme “Influencers to Witnesses: Synodal Way for Digital Mission in Asia” and aims to strengthen digital missionaries in their work of evangelization.

MANILA — A Philippine bishop who joined the global Synod on Synodality has captured his experience in Rome into a book aimed at helping Catholics put synodality into practice in their parishes and dioceses.

Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig launched “Spirituality of Synodality: A Compilation of Talks on Synodality” Friday during the Manila International Book Fair at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Vergara, a former vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, was among the Philippine delegates to the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2023 and 2024.

The book brings together talks he delivered before, during and after the synod, arranged to help readers understand its vision and apply it in local Church communities.

“The book is a compilation of my talks but it was arranged systematically from the start of the synod and as we are in the implementation stage,” Vergara told CBCP News.

“I think it will benefit the ordained, consecrated and lay servants of the Church,” he said.

Vergara said he hopes the book will help Catholics move beyond understanding the synod in putting its principles into practice “in our parishes, in our church organizations, in our dioceses.”

The Vatican has moved the synod into an implementation phase, asking local Churches to discern how the synod’s final document can be applied in their communities.

Vergara said he initially felt uneasy about becoming a synod delegate because it meant leaving his diocese for an extended period.

That uneasiness gave way to gratitude as he met delegates from different parts of the world and experienced what he described as genuine “walking together.”

“Our communal prayers during the sessions, especially the daily celebration of the Eucharist, became moments of profound grace,” Vergara said in his message for the book launch.

The experience exposed him to the challenges faced by Church workers around the world and became an occasion for personal conversion, he said.

“Yet I also witnessed how they remained steadfast, anchored in God’s love, mercy, and compassion,” Vergara said. “In them, I saw synodal spirituality not merely discussed but genuinely lived.”

CBCP president Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa described the book as a contribution to the Church’s continuing synodal journey.

“Synodality is not merely a pastoral program or ecclesial method; it is a spirituality of listening, discernment, participation, and mission,” Garcera said.

He said Vergara’s reflections encourage Catholics to become a Church that “listens, welcomes, serves, and walks together,” particularly with people on the margins.

Claretian Publications executive director Fr. Louie Gaudes, whose organization published the book, said synodality begins with people transformed by the Spirit.

The book invites Catholics to embrace a spirituality that “listens, discerns, accompanies, and journeys together” while building a culture of encounter, Gaudes said.

Vergara said he hopes the reflections will deepen synodal spirituality and help Catholics become more effective and faithful servant-leaders in the Church.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao lost two priests on the same day, Sept. 11, leaving the Catholic community mourning the deaths of a 54-year-old priest and his 35-year-old brother in ministry.

The diocese announced the death of Fr. Michael James Ty, 54, at about 3 p.m. Friday. Minutes later, it issued a separate announcement saying Fr. Edward Anthony Cometa, 35, had also died.

Both priests died at the same hospital, but the diocese has not disclosed the causes of their deaths.

“A day of mourning for the Diocese of Cubao. In life and in death, God calls two by two,” Bishop Elias Ayuban Jr. said in a social media post.

The diocese described the two priests as brothers in ministry and asked clergy and the faithful to pray for them and their families.

It said details of the wakes, funeral rites and burials would be announced once arrangements are finalized.

VATICAN — Pope Leo XIV said the first task bishops must place before every other responsibility is to “remain with Jesus,” because, he emphasized, “we are bishops, but first and foremost we are disciples.”

“To speak about him, we need to be with him; to lead his people, we must allow ourselves, every day, to be led by him. Among the many things you will be called to do as bishops, this is the most important,” he explained.

On Thursday, Sept. 10, the Holy Father received at the Vatican 147 bishops from five continents who participated in formation courses in Rome aimed at strengthening ecclesial communion and providing tools for the exercise of their ministry.

Participants in this yearʼs program came from numerous countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Central African Republic, Senegal, Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand.

“Together you have listened, prayed, celebrated the Eucharist, and shared the hopes and dreams that you carry in your hearts for the Churches that the Lord has just entrusted to your pastoral care. All of this will help you remember something very simple and very precious: No bishop walks alone,” the pope said.

During his address, Leo XIV shared several reflections on the theme of the meeting, “Bishops, Servants of Communion in the Church and in Today’s World.”

A heart of the Good Shepherd

The pope highlighted as a second fundamental aspect the need for bishops to have the “heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd, a heart completely turned toward the Father and, precisely because of this, wholly given to his brothers and sisters.

“The bishop is a man who learns each day to love his people more deeply: to know the joys and sorrows of his people, to share in their dreams, and to rejoice at the growth of their communities,” he explained.

In this regard, he entrusted them with the task of learning the names of the people who live in their dioceses.

“Learn their names, listen to their stories, enter their homes whenever possible, and pray with them. Especially in young Churches, the presence of the bishop often speaks volumes even before his words do.”

According to the pope, “a visit, a blessing, time given to a priest, listening to a family, dialogue with a young person: These are small gestures, yet they can remain in a person’s heart for a lifetime.”

Another characteristic of the bishop is what tradition calls “sollicitudo pastoralis” — that is, pastoral solicitude or concern.

“This is proper to episcopal fatherhood: having a heart large enough to make room for everyone, carrying your children within you and presenting them each day to the Lord in prayer,” he stressed.

Special care for priests

The pope also invited the prelates to take special care of their priests: “In this regard, dear brothers, I urge you to love your priests. Let each one find in you a father and a brother. Listen to them, encourage them, pray for them, rejoice in the good they accomplish, and accompany them with trust in their ministry. Give particular attention to those who are elderly and ill. Let them feel that they are precious, that the Church is grateful to them, and that the bishop does not forget them. Sometimes a telephone call, a visit, or an affectionate word from you is enough.”

Ministry as a service of love

The Holy Father also recalled another essential dimension of episcopal ministry, described by St. Augustine with a beautiful expression: “amoris officium” — that is, a service of love.

“Our preaching is an act of love, just as listening, prayer, discernment, time given to others, and our presence are acts of love. It is pastoral charity, through which Christ the Shepherd reaches the people he loves through our poor humanity,” he said.

Leo XIV noted that humanity is living through an age marked by rapid change.

“Developments in communication technologies and artificial intelligence have opened possibilities that, until only a few years ago, we could hardly have imagined. Yet they certainly cannot free humanity from sin and its consequences; the crises through which our world is passing tragically demonstrate this,” he said.

In this context, he recalled that the Church celebrated the Jubilee of Hope last year.

“Within a complex and in some respects troubling landscape such as the present one, the Church celebrated last year the Jubilee of Hope. Was this because she lives apart from the world? On the contrary, it is because, through Christ crucified and risen, she is sent to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to everyone. And we bishops are the first recipients of this mandate,” he said.

The pope also referred to his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which he said was intended to offer “a vision and a method for addressing the great challenge of safeguarding what is human in the age of artificial intelligence.”

A Church open to everyone

Finally, Leo XIV underscored the missionary dimension of the episcopate and said that bishops must have hearts open to everyone: “not only to those who attend our parishes but also to Christians of other denominations, believers of other religions, people who profess no faith, and all men and women of goodwill.”

“He listens to and respects everyone; he draws close to everyone and knows how to recognize the good that is present in every human heart,” he said.

MANILA — Here is the full text of the homily delivered by CBCP President Archbishop Gilbert Garcera at the opening Mass of the Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly at Radio Veritas Asia in Fairview, Quezon City, on Sept. 11, 2026:

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, dear journalists, media practitioners, and friends of Radio Veritas Asia,

I accepted this invitation not because I am the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. I accepted it because this place – Radio Veritas Asia is very memorable to me. This is the same stage, in this same building where, after EDSA II, the Late Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin appointed me as Administrative Director of Radio Veritas Asia. Here, we gathered our employees and celebrated international events with our Telugu, Urdu, Tamil, Kachin, Karen, Mandarin, Bengali, Hindi, Sinhala, Filipino, and other language services. From this very place – here in Buick Street, Fairview, Quezon City, through analogue transmission, the Catholic faith was heard in the forests and communities of Asia.

Radio Veritas was born from the vision of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences – FABC, to communicate the Gospel across the diverse realities of Asia. Today, the technology has changed—from short wave radio transmission to digital platforms, social media, podcasts, livestreams and artificial intelligence.

But the mission remains: to bring truth, hope and the Gospel to the peoples of Asia.

For us Asian Bishops – for us members of the FABC Central Committee, we say: “we do not just proclaim Jesus in Asia, we whisper Jesus in all of Asia.” The phrase “whispering Jesus in Asia” is a beautiful and profound way of describing the mission of the Church in the Asian context. It suggests that proclaiming Christ in Asia is not primarily about making a loud declaration, but about gently, respectfully, and patiently making Jesus present in the lives and cultures of peoples. We bring Jesus not by shouting over Asia, but by drawing close to Asia, listening to its peoples, walking with them, serving them, and gently making the love of Christ heard and experienced.

There is also a beautiful paradox in the phrase: a whisper is quiet, but it can travel far when spoken with love and conviction. The mission may not always appear spectacular, yet a quiet witness can enter hearts, families, communities, and cultures in ways that loud proclamation cannot.

In this sense, “whispering Jesus in all of Asia” is a spirituality of mission—a call to proclaim Christ through humility, dialogue, presence, compassion, accompaniment, and faithful witness, trusting that God himself will make the Gospel take root.

The Areopagus of the Modern Age

In the Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Asia, 1999 – Pope St. John Paul reminds us that social communication has become a powerful force in shaping culture, especially among the young. He calls the media the “Areopagus of the modern age.” Today, that Areopagus is everywhere—in our radios, televisions, smartphones and social-media platforms.

The Church therefore cannot simply use media to spread a message. We must enter the new culture created by modern communication, learning its language while remaining faithful to the Gospel.

This means that Catholic media must not only speak to Asia; it must also listen to Asia—especially to the poor, migrants, indigenous peoples, young people, victims of injustices and the marginalized. Before speaking about people, learn to listen to people.

A vocation, not merely a profession

Dear journalists and digital media practitioners, you are not merely content creators. You are witnesses. Every headline, photograph, video, post and story makes a choice: What will we highlight? Whose voice will we hear? Whose voice will remain unheard? That is why communication is not merely technical. It is a moral responsibility.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks: “Can a blind person guide a blind person?” This question challenges all of us who communicate. Are we helping people see reality more clearly—or are we adding to the confusion? Are we reporting what is true—or simply what is trending, what is popular, or what wins the most thumbs-up and heart emojis? Are we informing people—or merely provoking them?

In a world where truth can easily be measured by clicks, likes, reactions, and shares, we must never allow popularity to become the measure of truth.

And Jesus tells us: “Remove the wooden beam from your own eye first.” Before we expose the blindness of others, we must examine our own blindness—our prejudices, assumptions and biases. Authentic witnessing begins with self-examination and listening.

Disarm our words

This is why, in his new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, paragraph 214, Pope Leo’s call to “disarm words” is so relevant and timely today. Words can heal, but words can also inflict wounds. Words can build bridges, but words can also create walls and construct the tower of babel in our modern times.

To disarm words does not mean to weaken journalism. It means to speak the truth without hatred, to denounce injustice without dehumanizing, and to criticize without destroying the dignity of the person.

In the digital age, where misinformation travels quickly and AI can produce convincing falsehoods, the responsibility of journalists becomes even greater. The world needs media practitioners who can help people discern what is true.

Therefore: Verify before you publish. Listen before you judge. Understand before you interpret. Give context before you condemn. Do not allow clicks, ratings, followers or virality to become more important than truth.

“I have become all things to all”

St. Paul in the first reading tells us: “I have become all things to all.” This is also the mission of Catholic media in Asia. Asia is not one reality. It is a continent of different cultures, religions, languages, poverty, development, conflict and hope. As Bishops of Asia, FABC promotes the triple dialogue – dialogue with the different cultures of Asia, the dialogue with the different religions in Asia and the dialogue with the Poor. “Whispering Jesus in Asia” is almost a spirituality of the triple dialogue. We whisper Jesus in the cultures by allowing the Gospel to take flesh in Asian ways of life. We whisper Jesus among the religions by listening, building friendship, and working together for peace. We whisper Jesus among the poor by becoming present to them through compassion, solidarity, and service.

Therefore, we must listen to Asia — especially to those whose voices are often unheard: the poor, migrants, indigenous peoples, young people, victims of injustices and the marginalized.

Before speaking about people, learn to listen to people.

Once, with nothing more than an analogue transmitter, Radio Veritas sent the voice of the Gospel across the vast landscapes of Asia—through the forests and mountains of the remotest parts of China, across villages and communities, and into the Muslim heartlands of the Middle East. Its signal travelled where missionaries could not easily go, crossing distances, cultures, languages, and borders. It was, in a very real sense, a whisper of Jesus carried on the airwaves—quietly reaching hearts in the farthest corners of Asia. Today, every digital platform is a transmitter. That is a great privilege—and a great responsibility. May each one of the participants in this conference continue to be a voice that speaks to Asia, a voice that listens to Asia, and a voice that gives hope to Asia.

And may our journalism and digital missionary presence always serve truth, human dignity, justice, peace and the common good. Because ultimately, we are not called simply to communicate information. We are called to be witnesses to the Truth—and the Truth is Jesus Christ.

MANILA — Catholic media in Asia must move beyond using digital platforms simply to spread messages and instead amplify the voices of people often overlooked, Philippine bishops’ conference president Archbishop Gilbert Garcera said Friday.

“The Church therefore cannot simply use media to spread a message. We must enter the new culture created by modern communication, learning its language while remaining faithful to the Gospel,” Garcera said.

He said digital technology has created a new culture shaping how people communicate and understand society, requiring Catholic media to adapt while upholding truth, human dignity and the Gospel.

He urged Catholic journalists and digital communicators to listen especially to the victims of injustices and and the marginalized communities before telling their stories.

“We must listen to Asia — especially to those whose voices are often unheard: the poor, migrants, indigenous peoples, young people, victims of injustices and the marginalized,” Garcera said.

Garcera also warned against allowing online popularity to determine what Catholic media reports or how stories are told.

“We must never allow popularity to become the measure of truth,” he said.

Catholic communicators are not merely “content creators,” Garcera said, but witnesses whose choices about what to report, whom to quote and whose voices to amplify carry moral responsibility.

He urged Church media to resist chasing clicks, likes and virality when doing so could come at the expense of truth and human dignity.

Garcera made the remarks in his homily at the opening Mass of the Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly at the Radio Veritas Asia headquarters in Quezon City.

The four-day assembly, which ends Sept. 13, brings together Catholic digital missionaries, content creators and communicators from across Asia under the theme “Influencers to Witnesses: A Synodal Way for Digital Mission in Asia.”

The gathering is organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences Office of Social Communications and RVA, in partnership with the Vatican Dicastery for Communication.

MANILA — Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle invoked his father’s childhood wounds from World War II in a forceful appeal Thursday for an end to wars and violence that leave lasting scars on families and communities.

“In the name of Tatay Maning: Please, no more wars. No more widows — women who are made widows without any sense. Please, no more violence that will create wounded young people,” Tagle said during his father’s funeral Mass at Imus Cathedral in Cavite, south of Manila.

Manuel “Tatay Maning” Tagle Sr. was 14 when an air raid struck his neighborhood during the war, killing his father and injuring him. He survived with shrapnel lodged in his body for the rest of his life.

“He bore in his body, in his mind, in his memory, the horrors of war,” Tagle said in his homily.

The pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization said his father’s story showed that war wounds extend far beyond the battlefield, affecting people, families and entire communities for generations.

Tagle said his father also survived because people around him offered support during the war, a lesson he connected to the importance of human relationships.

“Life is in communion. Life is in relationship with God, with brothers and sisters, with the whole of society, with the whole of creation. That’s where we find life,” he said.

Manuel Sr. died Sept. 6 at 96, days after he and his wife, Milagros, marked their 70th wedding anniversary on Aug. 26.

Tagle recalled his father’s quiet service to others, including bringing Holy Communion to the sick as a Eucharistic minister and helping young people pursue education, including blind students.

He said those acts showed a life centered on service and connection, themes that also shaped his reflection on death and Christian hope.

“Others may forget you, but with God remembering you, time is healed by eternal memory,” Tagle said.

Twelve bishops, including Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan and papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown concelebrated the funeral Mass with more than 100 priests.