A Malaysian cardinal stressed that the Church must embrace universality and fraternity to move forward into the modern world.
QUEZON CITY, Philippines — “With the digital world today, we can continue the Pentecostal experience… to come out there and face the world [and] every culture without fear,” said Cardinal Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang.
“Uniformity is a sin [and] for the lazy people. [The Church] is about universality and fraternity,” he said.
The cardinal was speaking in a webinar on March 15 for Catholic communicators in Southeast Asia, where he reflected on the recent Church document on communication, “Towards Full Presence.”
Cardinal Francis emphasized how inculturation is a vital element of the Catholic Church, a mission he described as close to the heart of the Asian region.
“The spirit of the Church in Asia is inclusive. Being exclusive is going to kill us, even in the name of God,” he said.
He called on all the Asian faithful to showcase their unique skills in storytelling and employ “a young and energetic spirit” when proclaiming the Gospel in today’s highly technological age.
Moreover, the cardinal, who also serves as Chairman of the Office of Communication of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), warned against the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.
He explained how this innovation, if misused or abused, could lead to humanity’s reduction and self-destruction.
Therefore, the prelate encouraged everyone not to be mere onlookers and observers while artificial intelligence evolves but to take rapid action to mitigate its negative effects.
“We will engage to nurse and nurture those who are wounded… by artificial intelligence and social media, and be an evangelizing culture because we have a Gospel story to share,” said Cardinal Francis.
He also underlined how Catholic communicators must work hard to increase “the frequency of Holy Spirit-powered algorithms” and decrease “the volume of noisy and busybody algorithms that invade private and sacred spaces.”
Furthermore, the prelate said that the Holy Spirit will soon reveal the people behind the scenes who are harnessing AI-powered tools for their selfish interests.
“Forces that are hidden behind artificial intelligence who wish to control humanity and creation for the benefit of the hidden few… will be brought to light,” said the cardinal.
Some 50 participants from different Southeast Asian countries attended the webinar.
The webinar was organized by the Vatican Dicastery for Communication in partnership with the FABC, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei (CBCMSB), and Radio Veritas Asia (RVA).
