Verghese V Joseph –
Manila: Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), the Catholic radio station broadcasting in English and 21 Asian languages, is in the throes of a dispute over ownership of its overall operations.
Based in Quezon City, Philippines, RVA as a media platform of the Catholic Church in Asia shares Christ with all Asians. Started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local languages, RVA earned the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.”
Responding to the emerging media context, in 2018, RVA moved from short-wave radio to digital media platforms. RVA proclaims the Good News through websites and all the social media platforms in English and 21 Asian Languages.
In 1974, the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) assumed full responsibility for RVA, which was renewed and formalized by the “Bandung Covenant” making RVA a common project of the Church in Asia, under the FABC Office of Social Communications (FABC-OSC).
In a sudden development, Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar and president of FABC, issued a statement on Tuesday ordering a suspension of all activities and programs.
The bone of contention appears to stem from the removal of RVA’s programme director Fr Bernard Dashi Tang, which, according to Cardinal Bo was done “unilaterally and without consultation”. The FABC’s Office of Social Communications (OSC) had just renewed Fr Tang’s mandate for another three years.
However, in Manila, where the station is based, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said that Cardinal Bo’s announcement “will be taken by the CBCP as a proposal that is to be decided by the … PREIC Board, which is the proper legal entity that is in a position to make such a decision.” The PREIC is the Philippine Radio Educational and Information Center.
The archbishop of Yangon went on to say, “A meeting of the Coordinators of the RVA Language Services and others in RVA in which an announcement has been made to publicly remove Fr. Bernard. This is unchristian and unprecedented.”
What is more, “RVA is a project of the FABC, and as such, it is the prerogative of the FABC to decide on the major policies, programs, personnel, and administration of RVA. This has been the practice so far, and I am surprised to see a virtual takeover of these by the PREIC, which has been established to provide a legal safeguard for RVA in the Philippines,” the prelate added.
“In the light of the recent developments, I am compelled to declare and announce that the RVA in Manila shall suspend all activities and programs with effect from March 29, 2023 until further decision by the FABC,” the statement said.
In view of the situation, the FABC has decided to refer the matter to a four-member committee to study plans and proposals. The four members are FABC general secretary Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, Bishop Sebastian Francis of Penang (president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, and chairman of the FABC Office of Social Communication); Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan (president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines), and a yet-to-be-named bishop from Thailand.
The FABC’S Office of Social Communications is confident that a solution will be found through dialogue. Over the past few months, the FABC has been discussing a proposal to move its facilities from the Philippines to Thailand to make it more financially sustainable.
Since it was founded in 1969, its funding has come from the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Germany, but in 2018 it stopped broadcasting on shortwave migrating to online and social media to cut costs.
Now, with traditional sources of funding shrinking, FABC has to find other ways to ensure its financial sustainability; this also means managing its resources like buildings and personnel. To this end, it is seeking the views of donors, consultants, and other stakeholders.
Today RVA has emerged as the digital voice of the Church in Asia, engaging both “global” and “local” Asians in continuous dialogue on religion, culture, and solidarity with the poor.