Cardinal Tagle Highlights Digital Hope, Consolation of Pilgrimage, and Asia’s Growing Voice

In a candid and wide-ranging press conference held during the Great Pilgrimage of Hope in Penang on Nov 29, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle reflected on the immense possibilities and challenges of the digital age, the deeply consoling spirit of the pilgrimage, and the lasting global impact of the First Asian Mission Congress.

The session, coordinated by Daniel Ryan, Daniel Roy, Head of the Social Communication Office of the Diocese of Penang, brought together journalists from across Asia who sought the Cardinal’s insights on faith, technology, mission, and the evolving story of the Church in the region.

‘The Gospel must influence every influencer’

Asked about his hopes for social media, internet technology, and artificial intelligence in building faith within the global community, Cardinal Tagle began by recalling the Second Vatican Council’s invitation to recognize the fruits of human creativity as expressions of God’s own creative Spirit.

“We praise the Lord for the manifestations of creativity, God’s creativity in human ingenuity,” he said. “What we are experiencing now in the digital universe is a gift. But like any gift, it must be received well.”

Drawing a personal contrast, he recalled his student days in the 1980s in the United States, when calling home meant speaking to his parents twice a year, for three minutes, through an international operator. “Now we can communicate many times a day, even face-to-face,” he said. “Technology has equalized access to information and opened vast opportunities for education.”

Events like the Great Pilgrimage of Hope, he noted, are no longer local gatherings but global experiences transmitted across continents through livestreams and digital platforms.

Yet he also warned of the technology’s double edge, identity theft, disinformation, commercial exploitation, and AI-generated content that can manipulate emotions or cause political chaos. He shared with a mix of humor and concern that he recently discovered four Facebook accounts using his name, along with videos falsely advertising arthritis creams, organic tea, portable air conditioners, and even “papal blessings” bundled with golden crosses.

“The dangers do not cancel out the possibilities,” he stressed. “We recently celebrated the jubilee of digital missionaries and Catholic influencers. One influencer told me that from the death of Pope Francis until the election of Pope Leo, his platform received two million inquiries about the faith. The harvest is rich.”

But he added an important reminder: “I always tell influencers, make sure the Gospel influences you. Every influencer is influenced by someone or something.”

A Pilgrimage that Consoles

When asked to describe the Great Pilgrimage of Hope in one word, Cardinal Tagle responded without hesitation: “Consoling.”

As thousands of pilgrims journey across Malaysia in prayer, music, catechesis, and fellowship, he said the experience has brought a sense of deep comfort, not only personal but communal, by reminding the Church in Asia that God journeys with His people even amid uncertainty, conflict, and rapid change.

“It is a great consolation for me,” he said simply, summing up the spirit that has permeated the multi-day gathering.

The First Asian Mission Congress: A Story Whose Time Has Come

Reflecting on the impact of the First Asian Mission Congress held in Chiang Mai in 2006, Cardinal Tagle recalled the extensive preparation, including his own research on “the narrative aspect of faith”, how telling the story of Jesus remains an essential mode of evangelization.

He laughed as he recalled that, as the keynote speaker at the 2006 Congress, he had not prepared any PowerPoint presentation at all. He had simply prepared his talk in the house and brought only his notes with him. This prompted the emcee to playfully warn the audience in advance that “our speaker has no PowerPoint, so maybe his talk will have no power and no point at all.”

Yet the keynote, focused on storytelling as a missionary method, went on to spark significant discussion within the global missiology community.

“At the time, some scholars thought that storytelling avoided proclamation or reduced the doctrinal element,” he said. “We tried to show that this was the way of Jesus, the greatest missionary sent by the Father, and that narrative fits the Asian context.”

Years later, the significance of that message became even clearer. A major Catholic university in Rome invited him to repeat the same 2006 speech verbatim. “They said, ‘For Asia it may be old, but for us it is new.’”

The moment, he said, revealed the quiet but steady way Asia’s missionary experience is influencing the wider Church. “You just have to be patient. It has crossed from Asia to other areas.”

A Church Facing Forward

Across all three topics, technology, pilgrimage, and mission, Cardinal Tagle’s reflections pointed to a Church rooted in tradition yet open to the future. Whether navigating the blessings and risks of the digital world, journeying together in hope, or proclaiming the Gospel through stories, he underscored that the heart of the Christian mission remains unchanged.

“The harvest is rich,” he said. “And Jesus continues to walk with us.”