Cardinal Tagle urges Catholic influencers to let Jesus guide them during Jubilee Mass in Rome

Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle urged Catholic influencers to be discerning about their online influence and let Jesus' love guide them during a Mass celebrating the first-ever Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on Tuesday, July 29.

Cardinal Tagle emphasized that digital missionaries are not just influencers but also missionaries, encouraging them to embrace Jesus as their greatest influence, reminding attendees that 'Jesus is not the face or a voice generated by a digital program,' but He is 'the image of the invisible God.'

In his homily, Tagle warned against the abuse of influence for commercial or political means and urged digital creators to avoid exploitation and falsehood in their work.

Cardinal Tagle highlighted the story of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus as a model for influencers today, emphasizing the importance of welcoming Jesus into one's life and becoming an influencer who listens to and acts on his word.

Tagle also described influence as a 'fluid' that could be 'poisonous,' cautioning against false advertising and deepfakes, and lamented the unauthorized use of his image for promoting unproven arthritis pills.