Cardinal Ferrão Calls Asian Digital Missionaries to Move from Influencers to Witnesses

QUEZON CITY, Philippines, Sep 12, 2026 — Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão has called on Asian Catholic digital missionaries to move beyond the pursuit of online influence and become authentic witnesses to Christ, urging them to use digital platforms to build communion, accompany others and proclaim the Gospel.

In a video message to participants of the Asian Catholic Digital Missionaries Assembly (ACDMA) 2026, Cardinal Ferrão welcomed those gathered under the theme “Influencers to Witnesses: Synodal Way for Digital Mission in Asia,” highlighting the diversity of countries, cultures, languages and pastoral realities represented at the assembly.

Despite these differences, he said, participants are united by a common mission: “to bring the love of Jesus Christ into the digital world and to make the Church present where people live, search, communicate, and share their hopes and questions.”

Cardinal Ferrão described digital spaces as a “new mission territory,” noting that they have become places where people encounter one another, form relationships, seek meaning and look for answers to some of life’s deepest questions. This reality, he said, makes the vocation of digital missionary disciples particularly important.

“The Church needs your creativity, your courage, and your presence,” Cardinal Ferrão told the participants, while cautioning them against measuring their mission simply through followers, likes or visibility. Instead, he urged them to use digital platforms to “proclaim Christ, to serve others, and to build bridges of communion.”

At the heart of his message was the assembly’s call to move “from influencers to witnesses.” Cardinal Ferrão distinguished between the ability to attract attention and the deeper vocation of giving witness.

“An influencer may attract attention; a witness does something deeper. A witness points beyond oneself to Christ,” he said.

For Cardinal Ferrão, digital witnessing involves more than communicating a message online. It requires the authenticity of a life shaped by the Gospel, influencing how digital missionaries speak, listen, respond and accompany others.

He placed this witness within the context of synodality, emphasising the need for digital missionaries to embody a way of walking together. “Synodality calls us to walk together,” he said, adding that it means learning to “listen before we speak, to understand before we judge, to welcome before we advise.”

Cardinal Ferrão urged participants to make digital spaces places of communion where people can feel heard, welcomed and valued. He also pointed to the possibility of transforming differences into opportunities for encounter and called for particular attention to young people, those who are searching, the lonely and those who may feel far from the Christian community.

Encouraging the participants to enter the digital world with the heart of Christ, Cardinal Ferrão called for a balance between creativity and fidelity to the Gospel, and between courage and humility.

“Be creative, but remain rooted in the Gospel. Be courageous, but remain humble. Be present, but always point beyond yourselves to Jesus,” he said.

He expressed hope that the assembly would strengthen the participants’ communion with one another, deepen their missionary vocation and inspire new forms of collaboration across the Church in Asia.

Cardinal Ferrão concluded by praying that the Asian Catholic Digital Missionaries Assembly 2026 would bear abundant fruit for the mission of the Church in Asia.

By Catholic Connect Reporter