ASIA - 50 years of evangelization for Radio Veritas

Thursday, 11 April 2019 evangelization mass media mission

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Manila (Agenia Fides) - With the presence of numerous Asian Bishops, the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Radio Veritas takes place in Manila this week, the radio station run by the Catholic Church in Asia, which has done so much for the evangelization of the continent.
The three days of commemoration (10-12 April) opened with the presence of representatives of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, while the Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines, Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia presided at a holy Mass of thanksgiving, concelebrated by the Cardinal of Manila, Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle.
A commemorative monument to the 50th anniversary will be inaugurated today, April 11, at the Radio Veritas complex in Quezon City, where the inauguration of a museum of Radio Veritas Asia is also expected, in the presence of people and institutions that have supported the broadcasting station in this half century of activity. Among the other celebrations that will follow, a Mass presided by the Archbishop of Friborg (Germany), Mgr. Stephan Burger, with the president of the FABC, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, in Myanmar.
The event aims to recall the idea and the decision to found Radio Veritas Asia during an assembly of 100 Bishops from Asia and Australia in 1958, before the Second Vatican Council, which proclaimed the opening of the Church to the use of mass media for evangelization. After ten years of technical and editorial preparation, on 11 April 1969, thanks to the support of German Catholic bodies, Radio Veritas broadcasting began officially: the chosen site was Quezon City (in the metropolis Manila) and was inaugurated by Cardinal Antonio Samorè, who arrived from the Vatican, and from the then Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Rufino Santos.
"Celebrating our Jubilee today helps us to reiterate our constant dedication to proclaiming the truth of Christ, in fidelity to the Gospel and to the Pope's teaching", said Fr. Anton Pascual, president of Radio Veritas.
The broadcasting station received the "Ramon Magsaysay Award" for journalism and communication, for coverage dedicated to the assassination of Benigno Aquino in 1983 and the peaceful uprising of 1986, which led to the end of the dictatorship of Ferdinado Marcos in the Philippines. The organizers cite "the crucial role to denounce an oppressive and corrupt power and restore citizens' faith in democracy".
In 1991, there was a split: Radio Veritas became a commercial radio station, while Radio Veritas Asia continued short-wave broadcasts on the Asian continent. It then moved to a digital platform in 2007 and, more recently, on streaming and social media. (SD-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 11/4/2019)