Vatican News portal reports on May 21, 2026, that Nigeria’s Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of the Diocese of Oyo has echoed the message of antipope Leo XIV for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, titled “Preserving Human Voices and Faces.” The bishop emphasized the need to avoid alienation in communication, warned against “demonising” digital media and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and promoted “responsible engagement” and “media literacy” as solutions to modern dehumanization. He stressed that authentic communication must foster communion with God and neighbor but notably omitted any reference to the supernatural mission of the Church, the necessity of grace, or the eternal consequences of sin. This conciliar rhetoric exemplifies the post-Vatican II Church’s reduction of faith to horizontal humanism, where technology replaces sacraments and dialogue supplants dogma.
The Absence of Supernatural Reality in Conciliar Communication Theology
Bishop Badejo’s reflection, framed within the antipope’s message, reduces the crisis of modern communication to a mere imbalance between technology and human presence. He states: “Authentic communication must promote communion with God and with our fellow men and women.” Yet this communion is stripped of its supernatural essence—there is no mention of the Holy Ghost, the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the sacraments, or the necessity of sanctifying grace. In Catholic doctrine, true communion is effected through the Eucharist and maintained by the virtues of faith, hope, and charity. As Pope Pius XI taught in Quas Primas, Christ’s kingship extends over all societies, and peace is only possible when individuals and states recognize His divine authority. The conciliar focus on “human voices and faces” without reference to the divine Face of Christ or the Voice of the Magisterium reveals a naturalistic anthropology alien to Tradition.
The Heresy of “Responsible Engagement” with Demonic Technologies
The bishop warns against “demonising digital media or Artificial Intelligence,” advocating instead for “responsible engagement and media literacy.” This language mirrors the modernist error condemned by Pope Pius IX in the Syllabus of Errors, particularly proposition 80: “The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.” The post-conciliar Church, having embraced the spirit of Vatican II, now seeks reconciliation with technologies that often propagate heresy, pornography, and occultism. The faithful are not called to “responsible engagement” with tools of dehumanization but to reject them as instruments of the world, the flesh, and the devil. As St. Paul admonishes: “Be not conformed to this world: but be reformed in the newness of your mind” (Rom 12:2). True media literacy for a Catholic consists in discerning spirits (1 Jn 4:1), not in baptizing digital platforms with the veneer of responsibility.
The Omission of the Church’s Mission to Save Souls
Bishop Badejo’s emphasis on avoiding alienation and promoting harmony reflects the conciliar ecclesiology of Dignitatis Humanae, which prioritizes human dignity over divine truth. He claims communication must never “exclude or excommunicate fellow human beings, even when conflicts arise.” This directly contradicts Our Lord’s command: “If he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican” (Mt 18:17). The Church has always exercised the power of excommunication to protect the faithful from scandal and heresy. By condemning exclusion, the bishop effectively denies the Church’s judicial authority and reduces her to a humanitarian NGO. Moreover, the article’s silence on the eternal dangers of sin—such as the loss of the state of grace through unworthy reception of pseudo-sacraments in the conciliar sect—exposes the modernist heresy of indifferentism, condemned by Pius IX: “Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation” (Proposition 16).
The Cult of Man and the Erasure of Christ the King
The theme “Preserving Human Voices and Faces” epitomizes the anthropocentrism of the post-conciliar Church. While bemoaning “dehumanization,” the bishop offers no remedy rooted in the supernatural life—no call to prayer, penance, or adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Instead, the solution is framed in secular terms: “media literacy” and “responsible engagement.” This aligns with the modernist project condemned by St. Pius X in Lamentabili, where the evolution of dogma and the democratization of the Church replace immutable truth. The true antidote to dehumanization is not technological balance but the restoration of Christ’s social kingship, as Pius XI declared: “The state is happy not by one means, and man by another; for the state is nothing else than a harmonious association of men.” Until states and individuals submit to Christ the King, no amount of media education will heal the wounds of a society in revolt against God.
Conclusion: A Call to Reject Conciliar Humanism
The message of antipope Leo XIV, echoed by Bishop Badejo, is a symptom of the conciliar apostasy—a Church that speaks of humanity while forgetting God, that engages with the world while betraying Heaven. The faithful must reject this false pastoral approach and return to the unchanging teaching of the pre-conciliar Magisterium. True communication is ordered toward the salvation of souls through the preaching of the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments, and the recognition of Christ’s universal dominion. As the Syllabus of Errors reminds us: “The teaching of the Catholic Church is hostile to the well-being and interests of society” (Proposition 40)—because the world’s well-being is built on the rejection of divine law. Let us pray for the restoration of the true Church and the downfall of the modernist edifice that now occupies the Vatican.
Source:
Nigeria: Bishop Badejo echoes Pope Leo’s call for responsible engagement with digital media (vaticannews.va)
Date: 21.05.2026