Challenges that Catholic parents face in the digital age

Apr 10, 2014

By Georgina Morais
“The Christian faith is only one generation away from extinction!” Is this true? Are we really in danger? How sure can we be that our children will be faithful to the Catholic teachings?

This was the focus of the talk entitled Challenges to Catholic Parents in the Digital Age presented by Dr Oscar Tagulinao on March 22 at the Church of St Peter.

Dr Oscar is a Professor of Medicine at the University Of Santo Tomas Philippines. He talked about current and future threats to traditional Catholic families worldwide. One of the factors that contribute to these challenges is the decline in birth rates in Christian countries resulting in fewer young people.

He also spoke about some of the reasons why the younger generation leave the Church, with the highest reason being family tension.

The participants were given the opportunity to discuss in groups about the present challenge(s) to the Catholic family in their community. Feedback included lesser time spent with family / children due to the chase for power/money/career, improved technologies resulting in high-tech gadgets (i.e. smartphones, I-Pads, TV programmes) and the different cultures / faith of both the parents.

Dr Oscar stressed the importance of Pastoral responsibilities which include total care, dedication and love. When both parents operate as a team, they are able to ‘shepherd’ the younger generation to be closer to God. Building a strong family requires God’s strength and power and they must never lose faith in that.

Lastly, Dr Oscar reiterated that we must remember to HUG our children as much as possible as hugging increases a hormone called Oxytocin which increases trust and reduces fear. The session ended with all the participants giving each other a good, strong hug!

This session was organized by the Diocesan Family Life Ministry of the Melaka-Johor Diocese and facilitated by the Couples for Christ. Around 25 parishioners from the Churches of St Peter, St Francis and St Theresa attended this talk