VATICAN— Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle on Tuesday challenged Catholic online missionaries to let the love of Jesus — not algorithms, falsehoods or power — be the driving force behind their influence online and in the world.
Speaking during a special Jubilee Mass for Catholic influencers and digital evangelists, the Filipino cardinal urged them to reject manipulative tactics and instead allow the love of Jesus to shape their mission in digital spaces.
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“You are not only influencers, you are also missionaries,” Tagle said in his homily at the St. Peter’s Basilica. “Jesus is not the face or a voice generated by a digital program. He is the image of the invisible God.”
“Love cannot be generated by an algorithm. Only a divine person with a human heart can love divinely and humanly, effecting profound and enduring change,” he said.
Reflecting on the Latin root of the word “influence” — influere, meaning “to flow in” — Tagle described influence as a fluid, warning that in today’s world, some flows are “poisonous” and come from “dangerous stars.”
“To influence consumers so that monetary profit may increase, some resort to false advertising—even using deepfakes or fabricated endorsements,” he said, sharing that he himself had been used without consent in videos falsely promoting arthritis medication.
He cited other examples of corrupted influence: candidates bribing voters, blackmail in financial dealings, ideological coercion, and nations waging war to bend others into submission.
“The Jubilee invites us to scrutinize the intention that fuels the influence our contemporary world wants to effect,” Tagle said. “The change we desire is often connected to the means we use to influence people and situations.”
The former archbishop of Manila, now serving as pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, said digital evangelists must ground their work in prayer, humility and love.
“Will we let the water and blood of Jesus, poured out for love of us, be the true fluid of influence that washes away iniquity, falsehood, injustice, prejudice, manipulation, and violence?” he asked.
“Dear digital missionaries and Catholic influencers, Jesus loves you. Do not doubt Him,” he said. “Accept Him as the greatest influence on your life—and through you, may His truth, justice, love, and peace flow into every human and digital space.”
