The 14th of April 2019, the Paulines of Johannesburg had a conference in their hall on the Message of the Pope for WCD 2019..
In his 2019 message for the World Day of Social Communications (dated 24 January 2019), Pope Francis is to a large degree optimistic with regard to the contribution which internet can make in the Church and in society at large: “Ever since the internet first became available, the Church has always sought to promote its use in the service of the encounter between persons and of solidarity among all”. This lecture will present a critical reflection on this claim by looking at the development within the Catholic Church with regard to the internet and its suitability to function as a means for evangelization. As a result of this reflection, the question will be raised if Jesus today would be an evangelist and employ so-called social media, and if so, to what degree we are invited and challenged to follow Him also on that trail.
Professor Jan Jans, STD, studied moral theology at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) and is currently associate professor of Ethics at Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (The Netherland). Since 2001, prof. Jan Jans has been visiting professor at St. Augustine College of South Africa.
