Pope urges Catholic influencers to prioritize human dignity over follower counts

VATICAN— Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday urged the Church’s digital ambassadors to look beyond follower counts and algorithms and focus on reaching those who are suffering and searching for meaning.

Addressing the participants of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers in Rome, he challenged them to reimagine their role in the digital world as servants of human dignity, not popularity.

“Our mission — your mission — is to nurture a culture of Christian humanism, and to do so together,” he said. “It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter of hearts.

The pope called on digital missionaries to recognize the spiritual needs of people online, especially those grappling with isolation, despair or disconnection.

“[Seek out] those who suffer, who need to know the Lord,” he said. “[Help] them heal their wounds, get back on their feet and find meaning in their lives.”

Acknowledging the deep influence of technology on society and individual identity, the pope warned that social media and artificial intelligence must not undermine human dignity.

He urged Catholic creators to be a countercultural presence online, promoting peace, compassion and truth in spaces often driven by division and self-promotion.

“Nothing that comes from man and his creativity should be used to undermine the dignity of others,” he said, emphasizing the need for authentic witness in digital culture.

The pontiff also called on online missionaries to transform online spaces into ‘networks of relationships, love, and gratuitous sharing.’

He encouraged them to become “missionary disciples” who bring Christian hope to the farthest reaches of the internet.

“Go and mend the nets,” the pope urged, referencing Jesus’ call to his first apostles. “Weave networks of relationships, of love, of gratuitous sharing where friendship is profound and authentic… networks that liberate and save.”

He also urged digital missionaries to build communities where every voice is heard, friendship is authentic and infinite love is experienced in every encounter.

Addressing the challenges posed by hostility, division and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, the pope emphasized the Church’s mission to proclaim peace and hope through digital platforms.

“Peace needs to be sought, proclaimed, and shared everywhere,” he said, highlighting the need to nurture Christian humanism in a technology-driven culture.

The pontiff warned against the dangers of dehumanization and fake news, urging digital missionaries to focus not on follower counts but on creating genuine encounters of hearts.

“Be agents of communion, capable of breaking down the logic of division and polarization,” he said. (Roy Lagarde/CBCP News)

A version of this article was first published by CBCP News.