Bengaluru: A two-day media apostolate of all the regional secretaries was held under the aegis of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India (CCBI) at the Bangalore Archdiocese’s Paalana Bhawan on Tuesday.
The media apostolate meeting was conducted in a synodal context. This was the first meeting of all the regional secretaries under the banner of CCBI media apostolate, as the new department was created in November 2021.
The Vatican had insisted for quite some time that CCBI, as a canonical conference, should also have a media apostolate.
At the meeting, the members discussed the proposals that could bring sweeping changes in the church communication strategy considering the current media landscape prevalent in the country, vis-a-vis the Church. One of the proposals was to create PR team and media contact person or spokesperson at the diocesan level. They felt this strategy could help create a positive image of the Church, especially during the crisis.
Delivering his address, the Archbishop of Bangalore, Dr Peter Machado, presented a realistic picture of today’s media coverage. He urged the regional secretaries to think of ways and means to deliver the right message in matters pertaining to the Church. “We must seek newer ways to counter the false narrative against the Church and drive towards engaging with the media.”
From a media perspective, the prelate challenged the members and asked them to come up with innovative ideas so that the Church was better placed to face more difficult times.
Fr Stephen Alathara, Deputy Secretary General, CCBI, in his address, spoke on the importance of the CCBI Media Apostolate. He envisioned a huge role for the media apostolate, going forward. He suggested the members to engage in smaller and informal communications to fast-track media strategies.
Presentations by Mr. Verghese Joseph, Editor, Indian Catholic Matters, and Mr. Piyush Pushkal, founder of John 3:16 Foundation, highlighted the media challenges, opportunities and strategies before the Church authorities.
The presence of SIGNIS India president Fr. Stanley Kozhichira and SIGNIS India secretary/treasurer Fr. Victor Vijay Lobo and their interactions with the members led to agreeing to better utilization of the resources through stronger networking and collaboration to make all media ministries as effective as possible.
On day two, Msgr. S. Jayanathan spoke of the situational context of the youth in the post-Covid era as they are the future of the Church and that special attention needs to be given to them immediately by the media apostolate.
The members also deliberated on a synod consultation from the media perspective in the national context.
In this age the media when there promoting healthy use of the media is a commendable initiative. I am sure it will benefit the church immensely.