ASIA/PAKISTAN - Proclaiming the Gospel in the media: communicators on mission

Tuesday, 2 August 2022 evangelization mass media social communications social network

PAKISTAN

2024-11-19
The commitment of the Franciscans: interreligious dialogue defuses religious and social tensions

2024-11-08
Another step towards the beatification of Akash Bashir: "spiritual miracles of conversion" are taking place

2024-11-07
Air pollution: religious communities launch initiatives to protect the "common home"

2024-10-18
Controversial Islamic preacher visits the Pakistani government

2024-09-27
Militants of the "Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan" in action: analysts and social organizations ask the government for clarification

2024-09-20
Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy on WhatsApp

Ayubia (Agenzia Fides) - "Catholic professional communicators are evangelizers in the media: it is their vocation and responsibility. We want to train our Catholic media professionals and help them improve their work in reaching others through communication channels and social media. I encourage everyone to advance and grow in this profession, in techniques and skills, in light of the teachings of the Gospel and the values of the Church. It is necessary to live the profession as a mission to always proclaim the truth, to transmit and spread messages of joy, hope, peace and unity": said the Archbishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Joseph Arshad, President of the Commission for Social Communications (NCSC) in the Pakistan Bishops' Conference (PCBC). The Archbishop, who is also president of the Bishops' Conference, addressed media professionals during a recent training seminar organized by the Commission, saying: "As Catholics and members of the Church, we are all called to preach the Good News and to serve as evangelizers on media platforms. Thanks to your knowledge, you can reach other faithful and other people to share and encourage them to use media and social networks for evangelization. Our Social Communications Commission team is ready to help and facilitate their work and train people to enthusiastically serve the Church's media in their dioceses".
The Commission, in collaboration with SIGNIS Pakistan, organized a four-day training program at the Ayubia Catholic Youth House at the end of July, attended by Catholic media professionals from the dioceses of Karachi and Lahore, Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and the Apostolic Vicariate of Quetta. The seminar, titled "Media Training for Evangelization" was intended to help Catholic communicators improve participants' skills for pre-production, production and post-production of their programs, including sessions on scriptwriting, media ethics, news writing and fact finding. Workshops were dedicated to voiceovers for television and radio, as well as photography and videography techniques. The training sessions covered the process of making a documentary, the use of social media, the creation of videos for YouTube, the correct way to broadcast the Holy Mass on television.
Fr. Qaisar Feroz OFM Cap, President of SIGNIS Pakistan and Executive Secretary of the NCSC, told Agenzia Fides: "The media can be a gift to spread the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must learn and master the techniques to use them in an attractive way and produce videos and programs that touch the hearts, minds and souls of the faithful, to bring them closer to God". Urging participants to beware of fake news, he went on to say: "We must work responsibly to reach listeners with good quality productions while maintaining a high standard in the use of modern techniques." The seminar ended with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Joseph Arshad. Joel Gill, one of the participants from Quetta, appreciating the efforts of the Social Communication Commission, said with satisfaction: "The training has helped me improve my skills in script writing, news and videography, always with the aim of bringing the gospel". (AG/PA) (Agenzia Fides, 2/8/20229)