Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1522096
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JUNE 2024 6 INTERVIEW Fr Joe Borg: 'Church has to understand new generation of digital natives' THE Catholic church is on a mission to un- derstand the virtual spaces inhabited by con- temporary society and one man tasked with the job is Fr Joe Borg. A media expert, Borg was appointed last April by the Vatican on a study group that is examining the church's mission in the digital environment. The group is one of 10 set up to provide deeper insight into the more contentious issues that emerged from October's synod of bishops. Borg emphasises several times the impor- tance of listening, something many do not easily associate with the church. "In the church, we often make the mis- take of believing we have the answer to everything. We do not. We believe we should always speak. But the church's atti- tude today, pushed by Pope Francis, is that we should be listening more," he tells me. "If you do not listen, you cannot love. If you cannot love you cannot be a church." Borg says people live in two parallel spaces – the physical space and the virtual space. "Both are real," he says, adding the church's job is to be present where people are. "The church has to be present both in the physical space and the virtual space if it is to reach out to people. If the church is not present it is not fulfilling its duty… we have to respect this and be present wherever people congregate," he explains. Borg says the realities of a young person living in Korea are different from those of someone living in Sudan or the Unit- ed States. It is these different voices from around the world the study group has to lis- ten to before making its recommendations. But the difficulty to make some sense of this new digital reality is not lost on Borg. Indeed, in a reflection on the Maltese situ- ation he expresses frustration that recom- mendations he had made back in 2008 on how the church could embrace the media environment were largely ignored. One issue he highlights is the lack of synergy within the church. "In the church, everyone wants to build their own cathedral and we are unable to work together… We are many, we are rich, we are creative but we lack synergy," he tells me. Recently appointed to a Vatican study group tasked with examining the Catholic church's mission in the digital environment, Fr Joe Borg says the church must listen as people navigate two parallel realties – their worldly and virtual lives. He speaks to KURT SANSONE about the church's yearning to explore the digital frontier. T he church's mission is to love and serve. You cannot love and serve unless you listen. If you do not listen, you cannot pass on your word.