Digital mission and ecclesial communion. A proposal for pastoral inculturation and canonical reflection

Abstract

This article reflects on the need for proper pastoral inculturation in digital culture, as a new environment that challenges the Church to establish a dialogue with this emerging reality. The very dynamism of the digital world transforms values, languages, and relationships, demanding new pastoral responses. In this context, the development of a digital pastoral approach is proposed, one that recognizes and accompanies evangelizers present on social networks, integrating their missionary activity into the life and communion of the Church. Considering the synodal process, the missionary and participatory dimension of these environments is explored, and the need for a legal reflection is raised to ground and legitimize the digital mission from the perspective of Canon Law. Inspired by the “Digital Synod,” the article seeks to illuminate processes that promote a Church that goes forth, capable of authentically inhabiting the new peripheries of the digital world.