Today at the Synod briefing the press were told that a repeated theme in conversation in the Synod assembly was how the Church can be part of the digital world. For this, the Church needs “digital missionaries”.
Admittedly, having "'digital missionaries'" is not quite the same as having a virtual Catholic Church, but it is a step closer to having one. Whether or not a "digital" Catholic Church is a good idea is hard to say.
This blog's existence is made possible by digital technology. Without it, this blogger's thoughts would likely either not be written or if written, would be on paper that would be piled up in a dark corner of a closet that would never again see the light of day, so that not a single person on earth would have a clue as to how disturbed and convoluted a mind can be, one that allows for crazy thoughts to form. Not having this blog could actually be better for society by not filling up cloud storage space with worthless words, but the same cannot be said for having a virtual Catholic Church, in some cases.
By being in this blogosphere, one is able to reach readers in far away places one has never seen and readers who may be nearby whom one would likely not ever meet or know personally. This is amazing indeed, considering that this blogger who is a nobody, who is insane and incoherent at times, has unexpectedly reached a handful of readers (often less than that), but blogging in cyberspace with a tiny audience is quite a different matter from building up the Catholic Church in it that has the potential to reach 1.28 billion Catholics worldwide [2].
This is a good thing on the one hand, particularly for those who live alone in seclusion or in remote areas who would then be able to connect with "'digital missionaries'" which is better than having no connection at all but on the other, is it enough to have encounters via various internet portals with no chance of any direct one on one interaction with a person as opposed to an image of one? Is watching a Mass online sufficient to satisfy the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation? If not, then why not? Adoration of a virtual Blessed Sacrament is already available on You Tube [3]. What about receiving Holy Communion from a 3-D virtual priest by logging in and using one's own unique 3-D emoji?
How would the crucifixion of Christ be accepted and believed if it were digitized as opposed to real suffering on the cross? A digitized version would be like an animation based on a fantasy that is no different from any other kind of morbid entertainment, except that the crucifixion of Christ is real, historic and not entertainment. The most important moments of Christianity are the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ, without which the Last Supper would have little to no meaning which is the underpinning of the Catholic Mass. Would watching the consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ on a screen in 4K (or better) and in 3-D be more like having "make-belief" friends on social media that one never truly knows than like having real friends one can meet, hug and laugh together? The answer is an unequivocal "yes." Therefore, watching is the opposite of participating in real time the moment of transubstantiation when the Holy Spirit descends in the space in which one is present (body, mind and soul) and awakens one's faith in God and calls one's attention to the real presence of Christ.
For some it is challenging enough to have unwavering faith in God Whom they do not see or hear. A distance between them and God therefore exists. Having a virtual Church, one that replaces a structure into which one is able to walk and be in awe and perhaps even for a fleeting moment feel the true presence of Christ within it and within oneself, the distance between one who is already lacking absolute faith in God could increase. Not that it is only possible to feel Christ's presence kneeling before a cross in a church or a chapel as compared to sitting at home in front of a screen, the sensation between the two is different and in this blogger's opinion, are not perfect substitutes, until he is convinced that during a future apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that She would ask a for a digital shrine be built in cyberspace instead of asking as She did San Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin [4] to construct a shrine on Tepeyac Hill where the apparition occurred [5].
Is the world about to arrive at a juncture where one is able to to choose between what is real and what is pretense while not being able to distinguish clearly one from the other? Perhaps the foundation of pretense within the Catholic Church has already been laid long ago since there is no more incense to elevate prayers to Heaven and the Body and Blood of Christ have been treated as substances that can hardly be deemed as holy and reverential under the Novus Ordo Mass in contrast to the Tridentine Mass. In a fully digital world, none of this would matter since the Church and the entirety of the Mass would be virtual.
Whether a virtual Catholic Church will deepen one's faith or distances one further and further from God remains to be seen. The results will likely be mixed. Those with unyielding faith in God will likely not be affected one way or the other. Those who are in remote areas and who are living in isolation because of their nature may benefit from having a virtual Church, but those who are half-hearted, hypocritical and not prayerful may be even more perfunctory and superficial in their faith.
[1] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-10/synod-youth-2018-press-briefing5.html
[2] https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/global-catholic-population-tops-128-billion-half-are-10-countries
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqW1lENuph0
[4] http://www.ewtn.com/spanish/saints/santos/juan_diego_biograf%C3%ADa.htm
[5] "On 9 December 1531, when Juan Diego was on his way to morning Mass, the Blessed Mother appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill, the outskirts of what is now Mexico City. She asked him to go to the Bishop and to request in her name that a shrine be built at Tepeyac, where she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her." See https://www.guadalupeshrine.org/resources/saint-juan-diego
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