The New Normal in Pastoral Care: The Enduring Legacy of Media Appropriation in the Post-Pandemic Roman Catholic Church
By leveraging 20 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2020 and 2024 with parish priests and laypeople with an office in the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone (Italy), this paper explores the enduring legacy of the pandemic in terms of digital engagement in Roman Catholic pastoral activities. Addition...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| author | Giulia Isetti Michael de Rachewiltz Harald Pechlaner |
| author_facet | Giulia Isetti Michael de Rachewiltz Harald Pechlaner |
| author_sort | Giulia Isetti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | By leveraging 20 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2020 and 2024 with parish priests and laypeople with an office in the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone (Italy), this paper explores the enduring legacy of the pandemic in terms of digital engagement in Roman Catholic pastoral activities. Additionally, it investigates the impact of ICT and AI on religious authority. A comparison of the two waves of interviews shows that in the new normal, there has been an acceleration of the adoption of ICT and AI, primarily for internal communication purposes. However, faithful engagement and interaction through new and old media have remained one-way, reinforcing current ecclesiastical power hierarchies. Despite some inherent theological limitations to a more participatory use of ICT, the presence of pockets of innovation in extra-sacramental activities points to future possibilities for empowering laypeople and engaging with the faithful without compromising Church doctrine. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-feee7cc8e6c948e68cc8d118d828f06c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-feee7cc8e6c948e68cc8d118d828f06c2025-01-24T13:47:34ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-01-011619010.3390/rel16010090The New Normal in Pastoral Care: The Enduring Legacy of Media Appropriation in the Post-Pandemic Roman Catholic ChurchGiulia Isetti0Michael de Rachewiltz1Harald Pechlaner2Center for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, BZ, ItalyCenter for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, BZ, ItalyCenter for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, BZ, ItalyBy leveraging 20 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2020 and 2024 with parish priests and laypeople with an office in the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone (Italy), this paper explores the enduring legacy of the pandemic in terms of digital engagement in Roman Catholic pastoral activities. Additionally, it investigates the impact of ICT and AI on religious authority. A comparison of the two waves of interviews shows that in the new normal, there has been an acceleration of the adoption of ICT and AI, primarily for internal communication purposes. However, faithful engagement and interaction through new and old media have remained one-way, reinforcing current ecclesiastical power hierarchies. Despite some inherent theological limitations to a more participatory use of ICT, the presence of pockets of innovation in extra-sacramental activities points to future possibilities for empowering laypeople and engaging with the faithful without compromising Church doctrine.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/1/90pastoral caretechnologyICTRoman Catholic Churchreligious authoritytheology |
| spellingShingle | Giulia Isetti Michael de Rachewiltz Harald Pechlaner The New Normal in Pastoral Care: The Enduring Legacy of Media Appropriation in the Post-Pandemic Roman Catholic Church Religions pastoral care technology ICT Roman Catholic Church religious authority theology |
| title | The New Normal in Pastoral Care: The Enduring Legacy of Media Appropriation in the Post-Pandemic Roman Catholic Church |
| title_full | The New Normal in Pastoral Care: The Enduring Legacy of Media Appropriation in the Post-Pandemic Roman Catholic Church |
| title_fullStr | The New Normal in Pastoral Care: The Enduring Legacy of Media Appropriation in the Post-Pandemic Roman Catholic Church |
| title_full_unstemmed | The New Normal in Pastoral Care: The Enduring Legacy of Media Appropriation in the Post-Pandemic Roman Catholic Church |
| title_short | The New Normal in Pastoral Care: The Enduring Legacy of Media Appropriation in the Post-Pandemic Roman Catholic Church |
| title_sort | new normal in pastoral care the enduring legacy of media appropriation in the post pandemic roman catholic church |
| topic | pastoral care technology ICT Roman Catholic Church religious authority theology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/1/90 |
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