The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications for Authentic Formation

Abstract

In his message for the Jubilee year 2000, the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II called for ‘New Evangelization’ with new methods in the propagation of the Gospel. This pronouncement of the Holy Father ushers in a wind for the adoption of notable tools for evangelization in the 20 th century. The 20 th century is said to be a century of digitalization. In the modern wake of science and technology, there seem to be an unparallel form of civilization when compared with the centuries before now. This is due to the adoption of the modalities and methods of science and technology. The digital age began in 1939 with the construction of the first digital computer. In the sixty-five years that have followed, the influence of digitization on our everyday lives has grown steadily and today digital technology has a greater influence on our lives more than at any time since its development 1 . This is not to say the age before did not have a share of some level of scientific development. In fact, Thales, Anaxagoras, Rene Descartes and a host of others had a feel of this reality.