Matt McKillip is the CFO and Director of Administration for the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana. He has a heart for our Catholic youth, grown from his past experience working at Purdue University and lived experience as a parent. We decided to explore some of what Matt has been reading and observing, along with my recent experience as a panelist discussing the Catholic analysis of Isolation sponsored by the Order of Malta, Pittsburgh region.
Matt notes key summary points from two books, “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, and “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel Van der Kolk. “The data in the book ties to the emergence of smart devices, especially Gen Z, but it does affect everyone,” Matt said. Haidt makes the point that our young people have been overly protected in the real world while, at the same time, unsupervised when exploring the virtual world. Van der Kolk says the research indicates that our stress and other experiences make a lifelong impact on our mental state.
McKillip points out that “the virtual experience essentially rewires the brain, and our Church brings people together for real-world experiences. Online, people tend to be quick to anger and slow to forgive, while our Church teaches us to be slow to anger and quick to forgive.”
During the Malta event on Isolation, Brett Robinson, Director at the McGrath Center at Notre Dame, reflected on Pope Francis’ comments that technology is “not neutral.” Emerging technology is creating new cultural norms that, in many cases, remove us from each other and the community that we so desperately need.
Listen to this conversation to hear what experts from various professions have to say. In the second part, we discuss what the Church can do to respond. May this all remind us of the importance of our in-person community, rooted in our sacramental role as Church.
Terry Poplava
Terry Poplava serves as General Manager, ACST Catholic. As a cradle Catholic, his faith was lukewarm until he was confronted by the intense challenge and commitment he heard in the message about Stewardship. “What do I own and what owns me?” which led him to executive roles at Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic Leadership Institute before his current focus on serving the Catholic Church at ACS Technologies. Terry has extensive experience working with churches across the U.S., supporting their planning, stewardship, and engagement efforts
