154 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age C H A P T E R 1 0 The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications for Authentic Formation Gregory Ebalu OGBENIKA & Anthony Ifechukwude AKALUE Introduction 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 20th century. The 20th 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 development1. 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. However, it is important to note that the media has been bastardized. Some persons see it as an avenue for being immoral. This ranges from the awareness of pornography, sextex, plagiarism and so on. The evil about this is that it is with a click of the button. With the The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications… 155 aid of digitization, scammers and criminals are on the increase. This is why the percentage of cybercrime has gone on the increase in recent years. For this reason, government has brought in different ways to help check and curb its use and excesses. Even non- governmental organizations have waded into helping in savaging the negative effects of digitization. Everyone has a right to technology. Human Rights are those legal and/or moral rights that all persons have, simply as persons. In the current digital age, human rights are increasingly being either fulfilled or violated in the online environment2. The seminarians who are under formation to be Catholic Priests are also exposed to these right and privileges of technologies. The question now is: Will the dangers of the digital age affect the integrity of the Church? Will it undermine what the Church stands for in the formation of candidate for the priesthood? Will the Church in general, and the seminarians in particular, benefit anything from the gains of science and technology? Does digital media pose any threat to authentic formation? Our aim in this paper is to identify some of the challenges of seminary formation in the digital age. The method to be employed will be analytic, prescriptive and systematic. The Crises of the Digital Age Science and technology are a twin characteristics of the 21st century. This is because the relevance and impact of science and technology in this age has marked tremendous success in the society. The 21st century is almost merged with the digital age. In other words, it is almost impossible to separate the reality of science and technology from the 21st century. Digitalization for the sake of clarification is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format, in which the information is organized into bits3. Digitization is of crucial importance to data processing, storage and transmission, because it "allows information of all kinds in all formats to be carried with the same efficiency and also intermingled".4 The age of digitization seeks to move from the analogue way of doing things to a more sophisticated form. This in a way has improved economic cohesion and foster human interaction. This 156 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age digital transformation and translation is seen and felt in virtually every facet of today’s existence. Business moguls and other scientific expatriates excel because of the untiring success of digitization. They all use the potential of digitization to offer humanity smarter and faster services and actively shape their immediate environs with the help of digital transformation5. The digital media affects all sectors of society, in particular economies, religious, education, social, political, cultural sphere. At the same time, it has opened up new networking possibilities, and enables co-operation between different persons from different locations. In fact, with the aid of digitization, the world has now become a ‘global village’. The Society of Research in making a distinction between the centuries before and the twenty-first century development due to the growth of science and technology states: By the beginning of the (twenty-first) century, the notion of progress was closely linked with technological development, and that linkage intensified in the following decades. The automobile and the airplane changed not only travel but the nature of our cities and towns. Radio and then television brought more of the outside world into everyone’s home. Knowledge about the causes of diseases brought new treatments and preventive measures. Computer appeared, and soon the transistor made them smaller, more powerful, more accessible, and cheaper… organized research and development., which are increasingly international in character, have greatly increased the production of new knowledge. Deeper understanding of living organisms is leading toward cures of diseases once thought.6 The point here is that the modern society has benefitted from the gains of science and technology. This benefits range from the invention and management of automobile and aircrafts down to the dissemination of information with the aid of television and radio together with other media forms of communication. Even the educational sector is not left out since it has benefited in the way and manner researches are carried out. These researches have helped in no small measure in detecting the causes of some diseases and sickness The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications… 157 and sought ways to combat them by proffering solutions. No doubt that this will also be of benefit to the political sphere of the state, because a state where all of these are evident is said to be an ideal state. Religious leaders will also benefit from it, because they can reach out to so many persons as much as possible from all works of life. The age is also characterized with different mode of social media communication as evident in the presence of the internet. The internet has a major impact when it comes to providing new opportunities that were not previously available in the past centuries. This internet is a channel in constant development, enjoying high attention and being currently used by more than a third of the global population7. Giving all of these benefits of modernization in this digital age, there exist some mismanagement of the potency of science and technology. This is evident in the increment of cyber- crimes and all forms of media violence in this present age. Recent polls have shown by percentage, how crime has grown over time. Attacks against information infrastructure and internet services have already taken place. Online fraud and hacking attacks are some examples of computer- related crimes that are committed on a large scale everyday. The financial damage caused by cybercrime is reported to be enormous. In 2003 alone, malicious software caused damages of up to USD 17 billion. By some estimates, revenues from cybercrime exceeded USD 100 billion in 2007, outstripping the illegal trade in drugs for the first time. Nearly 60 per cent of businesses in the United States believe that cybercrime is more costly to them than physical crime8. Looking at all of these crimes, the document went further to stress on the need to protect one’s information “These estimates clearly demonstrate the importance of protecting information infrastructure”9. The reality of cyber-crime in this modern age has brought in the need for cybersecurity in the society. In fact, the 2010 UN General Assembly’s resolution on cybersecurity addresses cybercrime as one major challenge. Their preoccupation is on the need to collaborate 158 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age with the government of each state to enhance cybersecurity so as to protect critical information for nation’s security and economic well- being10. Hacking of websites established for the collation of election results is a common language in the conduct of elections in most nations of the world today. The 2016 general elections in the United States and the just concluded general elections in Nigeria are still fresh in our memories as instances, where cyber crime and manipulations was perceived to have been adopted in the conduct of the elections by the electoral bodies and even some of the political parties that were involved in these elections. Even the reality of engaging in sexually immoral act online is another reality with the digital age. Some engage in pornography and other sexual crimes online. Looking at all of these crimes, can one say the digital age is beneficial to the human person? Since the subject of study is its challenges to Seminarians, can one say it is still relevant to The Church and Seminary Formation? A close look at the nature of The Church and the urgency of digitalization will help underscore whether or not the digital age is a challenge to those in formation. The Church and the Digital Age The Church is the New Testament (Convenant) people of God united in one faith, one baptism and one Lord11. The Church as a New Testament people has the mission of proclaiming the mercies of God. The Church which is a community of the faithful, has a mission to teach and sanctify her members. In doing this, she is called to be open to the reality and challenges of her time. In Gaudium et Spes, the Concillar Fathers make bold to state that the Church must rise up to the challenges of the present innovations of the society and try to interpret them in the light of the gospel. “The Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel”12. One of the signs of this present age is the reality of science and technology. This is the age in which seminarians of today are formed. It is from this perspective that the Church calls for the proper education of the faithful to know how to apply some of the products of science and technology. The document on social communication, Aetatis Novae says: Education and training regarding the internet ought to be part of comprehensive programs of media The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications… 159 education available to members of the Church. As much as possible, pastoral planning for social communications should make provision for this training in the formation of seminarians, priests, religious, and lay pastoral personnel as well as teachers, parents, and students.13 In his message for the World Communication Sunday of 2010, Pope Benedict XVI calls on the pastors of the Church to embrace the reality of the media in the proclamation of the Word of God. He also warns that they are to make responsible use of it. In other words, the use of the media for the proclamation of the word of God must make them efficient, compelling and focused. In his words: All priests have as their primary duty the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and the communication of his saving grace in the sacraments … the increased availability of the new technologies demand greater responsibility on the part of those called to proclaim the word, but it also requires them to become more focused, efficient and compelling in their efforts14. There is no doubt, therefore that the introduction of the media to the proclamation of the word of God is in obedience to the mandate of Christ ‘Go out make disciples of all nations’. With the aid of the media, the Church can reach out to as many as she can in the world; so it is left for the pastors of souls to embrace the missionary zeal of St. Paul who said “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel(1Cor 9:16). The Church sees the rise of science and technology as a product of man’s intelligence and creative skill. It is indeed a new stage of history that must be embraced with bravery and sense of mission. The Conciliar Fathers assert thus: Today, the human race is involved in a new stage of history. Profound and rapid changes are spreading by degrees around the whole world. Triggered by the intelligence and creative energies of man, these changes recoil upon him, upon his decisions and desire, both individual and collective, and upon his 160 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age manner of thinking and acting with respect to things and to people. Hence, we can already speak of a true cultural and social transformation, one which has repercussions on man’s religious life as well.15 There is no doubt that the reality of science and technology has changed the face of man’s culture and social interactions, so in order not to allow humanity to be easily swayed by this wind of change, the Church has as her responsibility, to nurture the faith of her members in the light of this changing culture of science and technology. Any form of neglect in this regard will cause major harm to the flock that has been entrusted to her. It becomes pertinent to state here that if the Church fails to utilize this powerful means of evangelization, they might end up feeling guilty in the future as Evangeli Nuntiandi asserts: The Church would feel guilty before the Lord if she did not utilize these powerful means that human skill is daily rendering more perfect. It is through them that she proclaims from the house tops the message of which she is the depository16. This is where the instruction from the Code of Canon Law becomes pertinent: While pride of place must always be given to preaching and catechetical instruction, all the available means of proclaiming Christian doctrine are to be used: the exposition of doctrine in schools, in institutes of higher learning, at conference and meetings of all kinds; public declarations by lawful authority on the occasion of certain events; the printed word and other means of social communication.17 So in order not to feel guilty before the Lord who has endowed the human person with the knowledge of putting together the technicalities of the media, it is important that the Church employ every means necessary for the proclamation of the Gospel. This will help the pastoral ministry of the priest and the seminarians under formation. Now, a close examination of the different areas of priestly formation will be necessary here. This will help to ascertain the different areas in which technological advancement will affect the formation of the seminarian. The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications… 161 The Seminarian and the Areas of Priestly Formation in the Light of Vatican II The Seminary is an institution where candidates for the priesthood are formed. The institution of the seminary was established by the sixteenth century Council of Trent. Seminaries were charged with the formation of men for the priesthood. The character of seminary education was largely unchanged until the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965).18 The Second Vatican Council has on various occasions dealt with the subject of the life, ministry and formation of priests. The Church through the Vatican II document, has done this in a more solemn way during the synods of Bishops. Already in October 1967, the first General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod devoted five general congregations to the subject of the renewal of seminaries. This work as it were, gave a decisive impulse to the formulation of the document of the Congregation for Catholic Education entitled, “Fundamental Norms for Priestly Formation”. The Second Ordinary General Assembly held in 1971 spent half its time on the ministerial priesthood. The result of this synodal discourse were incorporated as recommendations, which were submited to Pope Paul VI. The recommendations were read at the opening of the 1974 Synod. And in their recommendations, certain areas of priestly formation were outlined which include the human, spiritual, intellectual and the pastoral. This is a further proof that the magisterium of the Church has always shown interest in the ministry and life of the priests. The Seminarian who is a candidate for the priesthood is expected to pass through these four areas of priestly formation. Here, an excursus will be made on the four areas of priestly formation. The human formation is seen as the basis of all other areas of priestly formation. This is because it is the human person who will be formed to act in the person of Christ. One becomes a priest by first becoming a human being, and if one must become a responsible priest he must first become a responsible human being. This further underscores that the essence of human formation is to make a person acquire and develop certain human qualities in order to relate well with his fellow human beings, so that together they all make out of their relationship one human family.19 162 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age The spiritual formation has as its target communion with God and the search for Christ. It is a response to the call to holiness of the priest. This demand for personal holiness and other spiritual requirements in the life of priests is obvious. The call to priestly holiness implies the need to constantly look into ourselves so as to be able to discover, the abiding presence of God.20 The priest is called to a life of faith, hope and charity. The essential aspect to be looked into in this quest for holiness include prayer, meditation on the word of God, the love for the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Intellectual Formation seeks above all man’s intelligent, by which he participates in the light of God’s mind and seeks to acquire a wisdom which in turn opens to and is directed towards knowing and adhering to God. This is because if we want every Christian to be prepared in order to make a defence of the faith and to account for the hope that is in us, then all the more should the candidates for the priesthood and priest have diligent care of the quality of their intellectual formation in their education and pastoral activity.21 All the elements of Human, Spiritual and intellectual formation, have their cumulative point in Pastoral formation. Every priest is a priest not only for his own sake but for the sake of God’s people. The formation of the priest must lead him to follow in the footstep of the Good Shepherd.22 It is to this end that Pope John Paul II speaks of pastoral charity which is the summation of the way of thinking and acting proper to Jesus Christ, head and shepherd of the church.23 This pastoral charity has as its component, the need to be selfless in the service of God’s people as Christ did when he laid down his life for his sheep. This task of formation by the church is considered as a continuation of the work of Christ as evident in the gospels where he went up a high mountain to call those whom he desired to be with him (Mk 3:13-15). This means that the goal of priestly formation is: ‘Until Christ is formed in you’ (Gal 4:19). Looking at the above areas of priestly formation, does the reality of the digital age have a challenge to authentic formation? The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications… 163 The Digital Age and Seminary Formation: Implications for Authentic Formation The candidate for the priesthood whose duty is to fulfil the obligation of the pastoral ministry of the Church, must rise up to the present challenge of his time. It is the challenge of the reality of digitalization. He must strive to see this tool of the age as a veritable means to fulfil his God given mandate. The use of the media has several implications in the life of the seminarians. Junko Yamamoto and Simeon Ananou noted four implications of technology to the life of the human person. These implications are: Cognitive, social, ethical and emotional implications24. On our part we will add the spiritual implication since spiritual formation is one of the four areas of priestly formation. However, it should be noted that these implications will be situated on the seminarians in formation 1. The Seminarian and his Mental State: Cognitive Implication The use of technology has a way of facilitating our mental state. It makes the mind alert at sending and responding to a message and reacting to issues at large. This is because it is expected that one must think and reflect in order to send or respond to a message. However, it becomes disastrous when one responds to issues via social media when such an individual is absent-minded. This is common when the seminarian is trying to multitask; that is, doing many things at the same time and at that same time typing or sending a message via email, WhatsApp, or Facebook. Multitasking has become a predominant behaviour among technology users. Watching TV and listening to music on a portable device while drafting an email and trying to respond to occasional text messages from friends is becoming a common practice. The question one might ask is, “How well the human brain is able to process and assimilate multiple unrelated information and tasks?” After all, the brain can only process approximately seven spans of information in working memory25. This simply means that doing so many things (more than seven spans of information for the brain) while trying to disseminate information via the media can be dangerous. The candidate for the priesthood must guide against this danger. 164 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age The danger becomes more when it is a hurting messages to another person that may affect the person’s psyche. Such an atrocious act has a negative impact on the recipient of such a message; and the retraction more often than not makes no difference. Junko and Simeon says “ (In) electronic communication, it is impossible to take back a comment and have it erased from the person’s memory when the electronic user has not employed the ability to think before sending, posting or sharing content”26. For the seminarian to give a healthy post or message, the mental faculty must be a reflective one knowing fully well that it will be received by someone who may not have the mental strength to understand the intention at which a message is sent to them. 2. The Seminarian and Socio-Pastoral Interaction: The Social Implication There is no doubt that the influence of the media has a way of making one to reach out to numerous persons no matter the distance. Through the aid of cell phones, video chats, e-mails and so on, the seminarian on formation is able to reach out to so many persons within a short space of time. This eventually will be a boost to his pastoral aspect of his life. This social cum pastoral interaction in the digital age is not hindered by location, this is because with the click of a button, one can reach out to those who are miles away. However, it becomes worrisome when one prefers this form of interaction to a face-to-face interaction. It becomes bad when the candidate for the priesthood does not feel the need to give that physical touch to people which Christ, his model, gave to all those who encountered him. Face-to- face interaction is necessary at times because it is not every hurt that can be healed online. The point here is that it will be difficult to ascertain or identify the cause of a conflict if one does not engage in a one-on-one conversation with the person or persons involved. This is why Junko and Simeon say “it is hard to identify the source of conflict when tone of voice, body language, and facial expression are missing”27. One can be easily misunderstood when there is no physical contact with one another. This is why the seminarian must not lose sight of personal physical touch on the people he is called to socially interact with, no matter how enticing the fastness of scientific gadgets are. He must see that his interaction with people is not hindered in anyway. The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications… 165 On his part, he must guide against individualism. This is because the unhealthy use of social media has made people more lonely than ever. 3. The Seminarian and his Emotional Disposition Social interaction has a way of influencing the emotional disposition of the individual and the Seminarian is not an exemption. The Seminarian must be careful of his integrity and reputation because the media can upload stuffs about him that will leave an indelible mark on his integrity; this no doubt will affect his emotional disposition towards the society. “Technology allows us to upload embarrassing videos and pictures of others (and yourself) on a public platform such as YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and it can be sent to hundreds of people with a mobile device. Moreover, such insults can remain permanent. Emotional scars from such humiliation can be extremely severe”28. This point is necessary because the Seminarian must note that integrity is like a glass once shattered, can hardly regain its original look. This is so because science and technology has made the world a global village. An offence done in the east coast of the world, for instance, can spread very fast to other part of the world such that it becomes difficult for the Seminarian to easily get off such scandal. Even sexually inclined messages has a way of influencing the emotional disposition of seminarians. It is important to state that most of the technological gadgets house pornographic sites such that, if one is not careful one begins to act what is seen in that platform. 4. The Seminarian and the Ethical Implication of Research Works Of the four areas of priestly formation, the emphasis on the intellectual formation is very much encouraged. This is because the intellectual formation of the seminarian, will help him see the need to discern the mind of God. It will help him give answers to the prevailing confusion that has rocked the cohesion of the Church’s magisterium. The media here will be of utmost assistance because it affords the seminarians the opportunity to visit numerous libraries of high repute online for proper research. It becomes very sad, when the candidate for the priesthood does not see reason to work hard to develop himself academically. It 166 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age becomes very pathetic when the seminarian sees the innovation of science and technology as a means for making hazardous researches. One must guide against the unhealthy use of Facebook, Answer.com, medlibrary.org, nih.gov, appers.com, encyclopedia and wikipedia as avenue to cheat academically. In other words, it is against the ethics of research for one to use the social media to plagiarize. Commenting on this, Junko and Simeon say “abundant information from the internet makes plagiarism easy. While a small portion of students admit giving into the temptation to copy others’ work and submit it as their own, a large majority of students perceive cyber-plagiarism as a practice that is prevalent among their peers. The degree of separation between perception and reality in cyber-plagiarism exposes the ethical gap that exists in the academic honesty in the digital age”29. Plagiarism is an academic fraud that is frowned at all times in the academic arena. Since cyber- plagiarism is a crime punishable by law, the seminarian must guide against his actions; this is because, it will be scandalous for a candidate for the priesthood to be jailed for plagiarism. 5. The Media and the Spiritual Implication of Formation Spiritual formation is an important aspect of the formation of the candidate for the priesthood. This is where they are called to be in close union with God who has called them; for cut off from Him, they can do nothing (Cf. John 15:5). This simply means that the seminarians must constantly seek God’s face; they must constantly seek His will and do it without hesitation. It is in obeying their maker without hesitation, that their soul is guaranteed a place of rest and happiness for their heart is restless until it rests in God. There is no doubt that science and technology can also help in fostering worship and close union with God. This is because the social media gadget has the space for the downloading of bibles verses, the psalms, the liturgy of the hours, prayers of the Church, hymns and so on. All of these help to uplift the soul of the seminarian Be that as it may, care must be taken so that one does not spend time adopting the spirituality of the media rather than the spirituality of the Church. In other words, one must be careful not to be distracted with other capacities of the gadget while one is praying for instance. It will be wrong to see seminarians praying the Divine Office with an electronic device and at the same time chatting on The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications… 167 WhatsApp, Facebook or Yahoo messenger. This no doubt will hinder the real nature of effective prayer. On the other hand, some persons are so engrossed with the workings of technologies that they sacrifice the time for spiritual activities. This is evident when one might have succeeded in downloading or installing somewhat ‘interesting’ applications on their phones, computers or iPad for instance. These applications might have ripple effects as the attention of the seminarians may be drawn to it so much so as to forget that time for prayers and other useful spiritual activities have long passed. Benedict XVI warns the priest and the candidate for the priesthood thus. “Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ. This will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also, will give a “soul” to the fabric of communications that makes up the ‘web’”30. Looking at all of these implications, can one readily say that technological training of seminarians in this digital age is necessary? The immediate response to this will be positive. This is because the seminarian is formed for the 21st century and as such must be ready to apply himself to every resources at his disposal for the proclamation of the gospel. This is where educating the candidate for the priesthood on the use of social gadget becomes indispensable. Education is intended to make them more human by stimulating their creativity, cognitive abilities and ethical value31. Benedict XVI stresses the important of educating those in formation on how to use the gadgets when he asserts “using new communication technologies, priests can introduce people to the life of the Church and help our contemporaries to discover the face of Christ. They will best achieve this aim if they learn, from the time of their formation, how to use these technologies in a competent and appropriate way, shaped by sound theological insights and reflecting a strong priestly spirituality grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord”32. As the Holy Father noted, a proper education on the use of the media is very important this is because when technology is not well co-ordinated, it can distract the process of strengthening humanity. Knowledge of a thing will help one know how to use it and how to 168 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age teach others to use it. How can the seminarian teach those of the 21st century the ethics of the use of technologies if he himself is not grounded in it? This is where it is necessary to incorporate the ethics of science and technology in the formation of the candidate for the priesthood so that they may make useful impact to this age. The seminarians can only teach people how to use the media when they know its workability. To be able to meet up with the responsibility of the media in this digital age, there must be proper formation of the “will” in the use of digital gadgets. This will enable the seminarian know how to make good decisions on the use of the media and teach others same. The seminarian must know the ideal place and situation where the use of internet electronic devices are necessary. Those in charge of forming candidates for the priesthood must see to it that the norms of cyber ethics are taught so that the seminarian will be more cautious of their use. Conclusion Accordingly, from the above, let us embrace the use of the media with the right disposition. This is because the media which is a product of the digital age has its deep influence on the Church where it will help both her leaders and her members to grasp the reality of life. The Church has a lot to benefit from the proper use of modern media as Boniface Asuzu citing Harry Skornia says “A non- communicating Church is unthinkable. And to communicate we must use the communication tools of our age not in an half-heated way … but as a primary (tool)”33. So there is no gain demonizing the use of the media on the ground of its negative influence alone; a thorough investigation on its positive aspects must be explored so that the richness of the Church will be savoured by everyone most especially the seminarians in formation, who will be the future leaders of the Church. This will help him overcome and meet up with the contemporary challenges of the digital age. The Seminarian and the Digital Age: Implications… 169 Endnotes 1 Andrew D. Murray & Mathais Klang. Human Right in the Digital Age https://www.researchgate.net/publication/30527170_Human_rights_in_the_digit al_age last accessed 28th July,2019. 2 Kay Mathisen “Human Right for the Digital Age” Journal of Mass Media Ethics: Exploring Questions of Media Morality. Vol 29 2014 p.2 3 Digitization/digitisation" in Collins English Dictionary, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/search, accessed 15th of October 2019, 4 Cf. McQuail , D McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory (4th edition), Sage :London Sage, 2000, pp. 16-34 5 Daniel Schallmo et al “ Digital Transformation of Business Models- Best Practice, Enabler and RoadMap” International Journal of Innovation Management Vol. 21 No. 2017 1-17 p.1 6 Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a Near Era. Washington https://www.nap.edu/catalog/9481/science-technology-and-the- federal-government-national-goals-for-aNational Academy Press 1993 p 9, accessed 28th July 2019 7 Alexandra Talpau. “Social Media- A New way of Communication”. Buletin of the Transvania University of Brasov Vol. 7 (56) No. 2 2014 p. 45 8 Understanding Cybercrime: Phenomena, Challenges and Legal Response. http://www.itu.int/ITU- D/cyb/cybersecurity/docs/Cybercrime%20legislation%20EV6.pdf September 2012, accessed 28th July, 2019. 9 ibid 10 ibid p. 2 11 Emmanuel Akalue, The True Church of Christ: A Theological Discernment of God’s Will for His Church. Onitsha: Blue Prints Ltd. 2006 p.4 12 Paul VI. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes December 7, 1965 n.4 13 Pohn Paul II, Pastoral Instruction on Social Communications Aetatis Novae, on the Twentieth Anniversary of Communion et Progression. Vatican City 1992 n.28 14 Benedict XVI. 44th World Communication Day Message: The Priest and the Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word. 16th May, 2010 15 Vatican Council II, Gaudium et spes, n.4 16 Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangeli Nuntiandi December 8, 1975 n .45 170 Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 17 The Code of the Canon law. New Revised English Translation. Theological Publications, India. 2010 n, 761. 18 David Oakley. “Seminary Education and Formation: The Challenges and some ideas about Future Developments” International Studies in Catholic Education. Vol. 9 2017 p. 1 19 Oredipe, Paul. Saint Paul and Priestly Formation: Impetus for Today. Benin- City: Floreat Systems 2018, p. 25 20 Ibid p. 35 21 John Paul II Post- Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis Lagos: Ambassador Publications 1992, n. 51 22 Oredipe, Saint Paul and Priestly Formation: Impetus for Today p. 54-55 23 John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis, n. 21 24 Junko Yamamoto & Simeon Ananou “Humanity in the Digital Age: Cognitive, Social, Emotional, and Ethical Implications” in Contemporary Educational Technology, 2015, 6(1), 1-18 p.1 25 Ibid pp 3-4 26 Ibid p. 3 27 Ibid p. 5 28 Ibid p 5 29 Ibid p. 7 30 Benedict XVI. 44th World Communication Day Message. The Priest and the Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word. 31 Junko and Simeon, “Humanity in the Digital Age: Cognitive, Social, Emotional, and Ethical Implications”, p.7 32 Benedict XVI. 44th World Communication Day Message. The Priest and the Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word. 33 Boniface Asuzu, Communications Media in the Nigerian Church Today. Rome: Tipografia Ugo Detti 1987 p 112