By PJ Usanga
Rev. Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, National Director of Social Communications, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), has appealed to youth chaplains to prioritize media development, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) technology, among the young people in their dioceses and parishes.
Addressing youth chaplains from various dioceses in Nigeria at a training programme on June 28, 2024, Fr. Umoh emphasized that it is very crucial to engage youths in the digital world, where they spend most of their time. He noted that the Church’s future would largely depend on how effectively the gospel message is communicated to young people through emerging technologies like AI. “We must invest consciously as diocese or parish to enable our youths to develop media skills; we need to create the enabling environment for our youths so that they can learn these skills and begin now to embrace and share their faith through these technologies.”
The Church’s official spokesman highlighted the Holy Father’s recent address at the G7 summit which centered on AI technology, following after his different messages for the 2024 World Day of Peace and World Communications Day. He urged directors to stay updated on evolving media technology so as to be in better position of developing and sensitising other priests and pastoral agents in their various dioceses on this pressing need in the Church.
The event brought together chaplains from the Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria (CYON), Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students (NFCS), National Association of Catholic Corpers (NACC), as well as Young Catholic Students of Nigeria (YCSN) from across the country.
