By Santosh Digal

New Delhi: Church in India needs to enhance its visibility in media and brand its service to society, says a top Caritas India official.

“The Catholic Church in India is known for its service to society in terms of social work, education and healthcare. Through its manifold services, the Church needs to enhance its visibility in and through communication and social media,” says Father Jolly Puthenpura, administrative manager of Caritas India.

The priest was speaking on the challenges the Church faces today in India on Feb 17 at the opening of a two-day seminar on communication in New Delhi.

Church’s contribution and its manifold services to all sections of people are not often sufficiently known. It has to create visibility in all possible channels of communication including social media, Fr Puthenpura stressed.

The February 17-18 seminar, jointly organized by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBBCI) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), aims to update skills of those engaged in communication ministry in the Indian Church.

CRS is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. While Caritas India is the CBCI’s social service wing.

CBCI secretary general Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, a member of the Pilar society, too agreed the Church needs space to communicate its “a credible visibility and branding of its services.”

All systems and structures of the Church are to be strengthened in terms of communication experience and expertise, said Tony Castleman, CRS South Asia representative, based in New Delhi.