Last week, I had the chance to visit Fr. Marvin Tabion, a good friend and smoking buddy in his hometown Tubungan. It’s been a while since I last saw him as he has been appointed to a position in the Vatican by the pope. Tubungan was celebrating their patronal fiesta in honor of St. Anthony the Abbot and Marvin managed to organize a short concert of the parish choir before his return to Rome.
After the presentation, along with other friends we had a lengthy discussion about just anything and exchanged banters in between laughter. I remember him telling me that after his three year study in Rome he will make sure that I will finally wed and he will officiate the ceremonies. I told him that I threw a party and celebrated after knowing that his stay will be extended indefinitely because of his appointment which everybody around had a hearty laugh. We talked about how close Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is with Pope Francis and how the pope defied several traditions in the Vatican including his very down to earth demeanor which many conservative members of the Catholic Church don’t like. A pope should act like he is way above everyone and Pope Francis doesn’t like it.
The conversation eventually shifted to my profession. How’s the media he asked. Of course, to answer his question will take all our time. I told him that the landscape today is no longer the same as before. Social media has forced a 360 degree turnaround and perhaps a paradigm shift to the traditional media which includes television, radio and the print industry. It has changed the landscape of the traditional media. Like for example, before, people are merely waiting for the radio to tell the latest news stories. Nowadays, the people are the ones telling the radio people of the news stories as it happens. They would even oftentimes dictate the manner of how they want radio to spread the stories. Before, it’s just the radio reporters who flock road accidents or police operations and report and document the unfolding stories. Today, everybody wants to be a reporter and will find a way to aim their mobile phone cameras at the subjects and post it right away on their social media accounts.
The print medium is far worse. In fact, like radio, it has begun its extinction stage as everybody from advertisers to readers today would rather prefer the social media as their source of information thus ads placement are now online and digital. People would rather scan their mobile phones to know the latest than look for a newspaper and read. Sadly, mobile contents are free of charge. Newspapers will cost readers a few pesos. Investigative writing and reporting is now a thing of the past as readers are merely reading the first two lines and will scan new stories to check instead of read. Reporters and writers will have to report and write their stories for publication the following day and people can no longer wait as they can browse their mobile phones and social media accounts to know about the latest and as it happens. People want to see the graphic presentation of the stories they want to know while the traditional print media is bound to follow journalistic standards and guidelines.
From nowhere, Fr. Marvin related the same reality in the media industry with their experiences as priests. He actually raised a question that made us pause and listen intently. Why are there fewer churchgoers than those who attend regular prayer rallies and meetings? Is there something wrong with the priest preaching the Bible inside the church?
Even I was left thinking and speechless for a while because the truth is the Catholic Church, once considered as the strongest religion is experiencing a diminishing number of churchgoers. Does it have a direct correlation with our belief in God? But why is it that those who preach in stadiums and other outdoor venues have far greater and bigger attendance compared to those who go to church and listen for the mass? Indeed, what is wrong with the church?
Teachings-wise, it’s practically the same. It’s actually the same story told in different versions. Does it have something to do with technology? I mean what’s technologically advanced in preaching outside and in stadiums? Do we have a greater chance of redemption there? Or perhaps, the rituals of the Catholic Church has gone obsolete and have been left by time that the new generation today can no longer relate. But God is not time bound. So what’s wrong indeed?
We all bid each other good night and parted with a lot of questions to think about. Maybe, it’s God’s way of telling me to search for more and get closer with him. Maybe. Or maybe, something is simply wrong.
Farewell meantime, Father Marvin. See you in the Vatican soon.
