The five Salesians from Asia at the WCCP were there for different reasons: Fr George Jr. Plathottam is Media Commission Secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India New Delhi; Fr Fidel Orendain and Fr Anthony Paradorn as Delegates for Social Communications from the Philippines and Thailand respectively; finally Fr Anthony Lobo, from Mumbai and Fr C.M. Paul from Calcutta are doctoral students from the Salesian University Rome’s Social Communications faculty.
Taking part in the meeting were 6 Bishops and 220 journalists and communications directors (including several priests), from 89 different countries.
They explored issues such as how to be effectively present in this digital era, how to report on controversy, whether to give voice to dissent and above all how to rediscover the essential mission of the press to be of service to the Church and to the wider community.
This is the fourth congress that PCCS President Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli has called together since taking office in 2007.
“While the first international study was on identity and mission of the social communications faculties of higher learning, the second was on the identity and mission of Catholic radio, and the third congress was a Communications Seminar for worldwide Bishops,” Archbishop Celli recalled.
The current congress topics included “Future of the Press: Challenges and Opportunities” and “The Catholic Press: Global Challenges, Expectations and Hopes.”
Published 12/10/2010
