The Hindu : Call for a communicative Church

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 15, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Call for a communicative Church

By Our Staff Reporter

MULAYAM (THRISSUR DIST.), JAN.14 . The 156 Bishops, including Cardinals and Archbishops from different parts of the country who attended the CBCI Assembly with the theme `Church and Social Communications', have emphasised that social communications have a significant role to play in every aspect of the Church's mission, and appealed that they must be integrated into every church ministry.

"A pastoral plan, must for social communications, should become an integral part of the mission of the Church. We request the CBCI Commission for Social Communications to draw up a pastoral plan, which would include a vision and strategies to stimulate, promote and harmonise Catholic activities in this field. Thereby the whole apostolate of the media will be placed under a single, overall direction," a press release issued by the CBCI office-bearers after the Assembly said.

The release said as a first step, the existing communication centres and their activities will be subjected to a thorough review. Every region and diocese should set up an office for social communications and prepare a Pastoral Plan for communications at the earliest. A team of people led by a director should be appointed for this purpose. There should also be adequate efforts for training the required personnel for professionally manning the communication wing of the Church. Among the new CBCI office-bearers, Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselius is from the Malankara rite and he is the outgoing President of the CBCI. The new President, Cardinal Toppo, is from the Latin rite while the new First Vice-President, Archbishop Thumkuzhy, is from the Syro-Malabar rite.

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