Proclamation and Catechesis in the Age of Digital Culture

Abstract

This article examines the challenges and opportunities that digital media culture presents for evangelization and catechesis. It first describes this culture as a constitutive feature of contemporary society, shaped by globalization, the information society, postmodernity, and the emergence of new languages and forms of human interaction. It considers phenomena such as social disconnection, liquid modernity, exhaustion, fragmented experience, and the development of the digital environment as a new space for socialization. The article then advocates an inculturated approach to evangelization which, through critical dialogue and discernment, recognizes the possibilities for encounter, witness, and the transmission of faith offered by digital media. Drawing on the Church's magisterium, particularly the teachings of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, it emphasizes the need to integrate narrative, audiovisual, and interactive languages into the proclamation of the Gospel. Finally, it examines the contributions of the 2020 Directory for Catechesis and calls for a change in the pedagogical paradigm that goes beyond the merely instrumental use of technology. It proposes multimedia catechesis that combines digital resources with personal encounter, community life, and sacramental experience, fostering Christian initiation centered on the kerygma, witness, and mystagogy.