The Call of the Digital Age for Lay Participation: An Answer to Transparency of the Church

Due to the many Catholic Church scandals and abuses recently uncovered, Church transparency has become an important topic. This paper examines how, in the age of digital media, Church members are becoming independent media sources in order to raise their voices on digital platforms, calling for greater Church transparency regarding these abuses and scandals. Employing literature analysis as a methodology, this paper analyzes sources from scholars in Church communication, systematic theologians, philosophers, ethicists, moral theologians, media ecologists, and other sources such as Church documents and papal messages. The paper finds that while secrecy plays an important role in religious settings, the secretive handling of abuse cases may also derive from or devolve into clericalism, and the participation of laity in the process may help overcome this and ensure the transparency of the Church. The findings of this paper support the conclusion that transparency does not mean that everything should be uncovered but that lay people should be offered a proper administrative channel to actively participate in handling cases of abuse.status: publishe