Digital Shift and COVID-19
A pandemic makes the world a different place
Father Robert J. Hater Comments Off on Digital Shift and COVID-19
History is marked by many cultural changes such as the invention of the printing press and the Industrial Revolution. Today, we witness another change — namely, the technological and digital revolution that transforms how people think and act. Every time this happens historically, the Church responds by integrating the word of God into the shape of the new culture. In other words, when society changes, so does the Church.
This is evident at the beginning of the 21st century with the invention of new technology, especially the digital phone, which affects us in untold ways and provides opportunities to carry out the Church’s mission for young and old alike. Coupled with technology, the digital world has provided new avenues for development in medicine, merchandising, travel and communication worldwide.
New technology is especially attractive to youths, who use digital platforms to assist them in schoolwork and when communicating with friends. On the negative side, it affords opportunities to be deceived and manipulated by unscrupulous men and women bent on abusing them, dragging them into wrongdoing and entering into damaging relationships.
In 2019, technology came face to face with an event that transformed the way people think and act. When this happened, humans felt powerless, not knowing where to turn — namely, COVID-19 entered the scene.
New Virus
First, rumors surfaced about a virus that originated somewhere in China. By January 2020, it entered the United States, and in a few weeks, it spread through the country. Initially, no vaccine was available. People quarantined, wore masks and avoided crowds. I celebrated Mass at St. Clare Church on a Sunday in early February 2020 and then did not celebrate Mass in a church for two years.
The ensuing time was the weirdest in my life. I lived alone, saw few people, ordered food online and picked it up as a grocery worker, while wearing a mask, put it into the trunk of my car. I celebrated the Eucharist at home in a small room serving as a chapel for almost two years.
Shortly after the pandemic began, Catholic churches closed and parishioners were encouraged to watch livestreamed Masses in their homes. As the pandemic intensified and people died, some arrangements were made for funerals while others were curtailed. By 2023, over 1.1 million people died in the United States. The situation was dire, as jobs, recreation and personal associations changed focus.
When churches opened again, Mass was celebrated in churches with much smaller congregations. Many elderly people stayed home and watched it on television. Some catechetical programs were suspended for a year or more. Where this happened, students had no formal catechesis, significantly influencing their knowledge and growth in the Faith. Parish life changed, and the number of attendees dropped significantly.
After a year or so, vaccines were developed and distributed, while debate raged as to whether they were safe. Eventually, COVID-19 subsided but never disappeared completely. Americans were tired of masks and isolation, for which people paid a heavy psychological toll. When businesses reopened again, people tried to return to their former way of living, but things were different.
During my lifetime, nothing ever came close to radically transforming our way of thinking and acting. I don’t know how I survived alone, with slight contact with other people. Today, although we do many of the same things as before the pandemic, the world is different, and we are different.
What the long-term effects will be is still an open question.
On the Future
Looking to the future, I offer the following observations:
• The world changed and the Church needs to wisely use technology and digital media to encourage parishioners to build up society by responsible living.
• Catholics changed during COVID-19, especially after parishes closed and the Catholic attitude toward regular Mass attendance changed. This needs to be addressed by parishes and families.
• The Church must stress that celebrating Sunday Mass on television is no substitute for actual church attendance, where the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.
• Using digital media during and after the coronavirus pandemic set the stage for increased use of Zoom and other digital platforms which may help with private and group reflection and God’s presence in our lives.
• Seeing the drop off of parishioners after COVID-19 invites us to respond to our call, rooted in baptism, to be missionary disciples.
We enter a new era, just as the disciples did after Jesus’ resurrection. Like them, let us follow God’s call to teach all nations. We do so by how we live, what we do, and how we honor the God who loves us and calls us to share this love with those who come after us.
Through the intercession of Mary, let us be faithful to this calling.
FATHER ROBERT J. HATER, Ph.D., a Cincinnati archdiocesan priest, is an internationally known author and lecturer. He is professor emeritus at the University of Dayton and resides at St. Clare Parish in Cincinnati.