272. Digitalisation: An indispensable tool for pastoral fruitfulness

Last week’s post argued that the Church’s asymmetric pastoral model creates a leverageable advantage that enhances pastoral fruitfulness through subsidiarity-integrated centralisation. In sum, subsidiarity-integrated centralisation pools resources; leverage multiplies their pastoral usefulness; and an asymmetric pastoral model distributes the fruits of this multiplication according to pastoral needs rather than in proportion to individual contributions. Digitalisation is indispensable to achieving pastoral fruitfulness at scale. This is the focus of today’s post.

Digitisation and Digitalisation

Digitisation for Church institutions concerns digital infrastructure, such as having computers, websites, social media handles and groups, and electronic payment systems. On the other hand, digitalisation uses digital infrastructure to convert information, processes, transactions, and services into forms that can be accessed, transmitted, coordinated, and analysed digitally.

Hence, digitalisation becomes an important infrastructure for pastoral fruitfulness because the Church can adopt it to coordinate resources centrally while allowing contextual application and retaining local responsibility (subsidiarity-integrated centralisation). It also allows the Church to transfer skills and knowledge across geographical boundaries, to mobilise resources from people who are not physically present or able to give at that moment (asymmetric pastoral model), and to multiply the usefulness of existing pastoral capital (leveraging subsidiarity, integrated with centralisation, through the asymmetric pastoral model).

Digitalisation and Subsidiarity-integrated centralisation

Subsidiarity-integrated centralisation requires information, as a diocesan coordination centre, for instance, cannot effectively coordinate resources without knowing the circumstances of its parishes, schools, hospitals, and institutions. For instance, insufficient information has led to situations in which the diocese has under- or over-levied some institutions. The centre needs to know where resources are available and needed, which projects are ongoing, which personnel are available, and which communities require assistance. Digitalisation makes coordination easier by integrating the information bishops or diocesan commissions need to make better decisions.

Digitalisation and the Asymmetric Transfer of Knowledge and Expertise

One of the most important dimensions of the asymmetric pastoral model is transferring knowledge and expertise. The Church may have experts whose expertise dioceses or congregations need but cannot afford to employ, or who are geographically distant. Digitalisation makes it easier to transfer expertise without requiring the expert to relocate.

For instance, a canon lawyer in Rome can advise a diocesan tribunal in Nigeria just as a financial expert in Lagos can assist a rural diocese in fiscal management. In 2021, the Dicastery for Culture and Education issued an instruction on the ‘Use of Distance Learning in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties’, making it possible for a professor to teach in several ecclesiastical faculties. A medical consultant can provide certain consultations remotely through telehealth.

An expert can conduct a remote orientation program for personnel across several dioceses without travelling to each. An example is the ongoing online 6-week formation program for priests on the theme “Priests as Prophetic Servant Leaders in a Vital Church in Nigeria” organised by Pan-African Catholic Network of Theology and Pastoral Care in partnership with the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Catholic Theological Association of Nigeria (CATHAN), the Association of Nigerian Catholic Priests, and Veritas University, Abuja. Speakers include a cardinal, several archbishops and bishops, priests and religious, financial experts, media experts, and healthcare professionals.

The potential of digitalisation to bridge geographical and economic asymmetries is particularly important for rural and poorer dioceses (as well as for parishes, schools/seminaries, hospitals, and other Church institutions). Urban dioceses often have greater access to specialists, since universities, hospitals, professional organisations, and other institutions are concentrated in urban areas. Moreover, rural dioceses may not always be able to afford to employ these specialists permanently.

Through an asymmetric pastoral model, these professionals can offer their services free of charge or at minimal cost because their primary income comes from elsewhere.

Hence, the paradox of digitalisation is that rural dioceses, parishes, and schools need digitalisation more than their urban counterparts.

Digitalisation and improved access to knowledge and information

Digitalisation also helps improve access to pastoral knowledge and information. Publishing CBCN’s communiqué in digital format has significantly improved access to its contents, positively affecting the faith of Nigerian Catholics. Diocesan social media handles have served as an authoritative source of information about a diocese, and an effective instrument for pastoral action. Digital homilies and social media posts on the faith have been veritable tools for evangelisation and catechesis.

Digitalisation and Financing

Digitalisation also plays a major role in acquiring and administering ecclesiastical goods. Most institutions have a bank account, making digital payment systems easier and enabling indigenes, parishioners, or friends to contribute to parishes, dioceses, schools, seminaries, charitable projects, and other ecclesial institutions regardless of where they live.

Digitalisation can also help coordinate financial resources centrally. This happens when donations are centrally received on behalf of other institutions. Digital systems can help track the funds received, allocate them to the said projects, and record the expenditure incurred. This strengthens the connection between resource mobilisation and accountability. This practice increases donor confidence and positions the Church as a better manager of funds. Increased donor confidence can increase pastoral capital (financial, human, social, religious, spiritual, cultural, political, intellectual, natural, physical, and reputational).

Digitalisation and Cost Reduction

Digitalisation helps reduce costs. On the one hand, it can reduce physical meetings, thereby saving fuel costs, vehicle depreciation, time, security challenges, and entertainment costs. Of course, some special meetings must be done in person for maximum confidentiality. On the other hand, digitalisation facilitates administrative processes, which consume considerable human resources when they depend entirely on paper-based systems. In all, it improves efficiency and effectiveness.

Digitalisation Reduces Opportunities for Corruption

In financial administration, digitalisation strengthens transparency and accountability. However, since humans can also manipulate digital systems (the human factor), digitalisation does not eliminate all corruption. Instead, it reduces opportunities for corruption by limiting the use of physical cash, improving tracking of transactions and monitoring of inventory, and facilitating the creation of financial reports.

However, since digitalisation is merely technological infrastructure, governance must play a role in realising its benefits. Governance determines access controls, separation of duties, authorisation procedures, regular audits, data protection, cybersecurity, and reliable backups.

Digitalisation and Participation and Co-responsibility

The faithful are co-responsible for the Church’s mission because their participation is both an obligation and a right (Can. 211). The faithful can contribute through their financial resources, knowledge, skills, prayers offered, consultations, and various forms of service in the Church. Digitalisation can expand this participation by enabling it across geographical boundaries and reducing disconnection from one’s pastoral area of concern.

One living abroad can contribute financially to a project in their home parish or diocese. Through Church WhatsApp group discussions and Zoom meetings, members of a parish or diocese can receive information and provide feedback whilst being away from the parish or diocese. Livestreaming of religious activities also helps those unable to attend to participate.

Digitalisation and Pastoral Transparency

While the Church is synodal and participation and co-responsibility are indispensable and obligatory (cf. Can. 127 §1), this does not change the fact that the pastor makes the final decisions. In many cases, consultations are merely consultative rather than deliberative. Yet consultation strengthens these final decisions.

Digitalisation streamlines the consultation process and increases transparency in decision-making. This is particularly important because a digital system can make information more organised, retrievable and reportable. When the necessary information about projects, finances, and personnel is systematically recorded, for instance through statistical representations, it becomes easy to show how and why a decision was made.

One notes that pastoral transparency is a two-way affair. Just as transparency helps pastors make decisions, the faithful also have the right to transparency about how pastors use their resources. Anecdotal evidence shows that transparency on how Church funds are administered encourages the faithful to donate more.

Risks

As noted above, the paradox of digitalisation is that poorer pastoral communities need it more to leverage its infrastructure to improve pastoral fruitfulness. However, rural dioceses are less likely to fund it, as they may face other infrastructure problems and physical security challenges. Yet, with the current trajectory of global digital infrastructural development, digitalisation is now an imperative rather than a luxury.

There are also challenges to digitalisation, such as the costs of building and maintaining the infrastructure. Cybersecurity threats and data breaches also pose risks. However, instead of cloud-based systems, the Church could use more offline software for certain activities to reduce these threats.

Conclusion

Digitalisation is not a pastoral model in itself, but a use of digital infrastructure to enhance the operation of a pastoral model and improve pastoral fruitfulness. Hence, the question is not whether the Church should go digital. The Church in Nigeria is already digitally present, but it has not yet sufficiently become digitally integrated. The Church does not merely need more digital tools; it needs digital integration that enables its pastoral resources to be coordinated, multiplied and distributed according to pastoral need.

Next week’s post examines fiscal management in the Church.

May God continue to help us🙏🏾

K’ọdị🙋🏾‍♂️

Introduction