Cardinal Isao Kikuchi warned Christians against aggressive and loveless speech online and said such language attacks human dignity and obstructs the proclamation of the Gospel.
In his weekly reflection, the Archbishop of Tokyo said that the internet and artificial intelligence have contributed to a world where words can become detached from sincerity and genuine human relationships.
“In this day and age, how much weight do we believe words carry?” he asked.
“With the development of the internet and the commonplace provision of information by artificial intelligence, what percentage of the words created in this world as sound truly carry the weight of heart?” he added.
The cardinal said Christians must recover the meaning and responsibility of language as words are “toyed with in the virtual world,” lose their weight, and drift aimlessly.
Words hold particular importance in Christianity, he said, because Jesus is “the Word of God who became flesh.”
“The Gospel of John begins with, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.’ Our faith is faith in the Word,” Kikuchi said.
Drawing on the Gospel image of a sower, the cardinal said believers must prepare the ground in which God’s word can take root and bear fruit.
“What we need now, I believe, is to convey, through our testimony, that words have a face and carry the weight of the heart, in a world that is overwhelmed by light, fleeting words,” he said.
Kikuchi said Christian witness depends not only on what believers say but also on how they treat others in everyday life.
“In our concrete interactions with people in the real world, our own words and actions are the most powerful tools for making the soil fertile for the sowing of God’s word,” he said.
The cardinal said God’s word can bear fruit only in a society that protects life and respects the dignity of every person. He added that violence against human life is incompatible with the conditions needed for the Gospel to take root.
Kikuchi urged Christians to apply the same principles to their online communication by ensuring their words are grounded in sincerity and concern for others.
“In today’s internet-driven society, we must strive to ensure that even the various words we share online carry weight and meaning, backed by genuine feelings and sincerity,” he said.
“Aggressive words, spoken without any consideration, will never create fertile ground for the growth of God’s word,” he added.
