By Lissy Maruthanakuzhy
Panaji: On May 16, the feast of Ascension of Jesus into heaven, the Church celebrates the World Communications Day.
This year, for the 55th World Communications Day (WCD), the theme chosen by Pope Francis is “Come and See” (Jn 1:46), Communicating by Encountering People Where and as They Are.
World Communications Day was established by Pope Paul VI in 1967 as an annual celebration. The first WCD was on May 7, 1967, with the theme: Church and Social Communication.
Each WCD celebration encourages us to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that the modern means of social communication (the press, motions pictures, radio, television and the internet) enable the Church to communicate effectively and rapidly the Gospel Message.
Pope John Paul II (1990) in his encyclical Redemptoris missio 37 said: “The world of communications is the first Areopagus of the modern age, unifying humanity and turning it into what is known as a ‘global village’. The communications media have acquired such importance as to be for many the chief means of information and education, of guidance and inspiration for many people in their personal, family and social behavior. In particular, the younger generation is growing up in a world conditioned by the mass media.”
This year Pope Francis highlights the advice of the Journalist Blessed Manuel Lozano Garrido to his fellow journalists, “Open your eyes with wonder to what you see, let your hands touch the freshness and vitality of things, so that when others read what you write, they too can touch first-hand the vibrant miracle of life.”
Pope Francis suggests to have a personal encounter at news reporting. “The crisis of the publishing industry risks leading to a reportage created in newsrooms, in front of personal or company computers and on social networks, without ever “hitting the streets”, meeting people face to face to research stories or to verify certain situations first hand. Unless we open ourselves to this kind of encounter, we remain mere spectators, for all the technical innovations that enable us to feel immersed in a larger and more immediate reality.”
It means much to meet with a situation before you write news. You have the first hand knowledge of the circumstance, people and their feelings, as Blessed Manuel Lozano says, one get the freshness vitality of things, that the one who reads the news can feel it and touch it.
I remember accompanying a religious sister who was engaged in Prison Ministry, to a Juvenile Home to have firsthand knowledge of her mission. It was Christmas eve, and we had a prayer service for nearby 50 children below the age of 15. We distributed snacks for them, and had games with them The program was over and we got up to leave while the children were still seated.
As I walked, I felt a pull on my saree and stopped. I was already feeling sorry for the children and wondering what more could I do for them. I looked at the 8-year-old girl looking at me still holding my saree saying, “Sister, please take me and my brother from here.” Tears rolled down her pinky cheeks.” That scene is still etched in my mind.
Pope Francis says, “In communications, nothing can ever completely replace seeing things in person. Some things can only be learned through first-hand experience. We do not communicate merely with words, but with our eyes, the tone of our voice and our gestures.”
According to him, “The Good News of the Gospel spread throughout the world as a result-of person-to-person, heart to heart encounters with men and women who accepted the invitation to “come and see” and were struck by the “surplus’ of humanity that shone through the gaze, the speech and the gestures of those who bore witness to Jesus Christ.”
In the wake of Press emerging as an instrument forming public opinion, a German bishop had said long ago, “If St Paul were alive he would be a journalist.”
Pope Francis says, “Every tool has its value, and that great communicator who was Paul of Tarsus would certainly have made use of email and social messaging. Yet it was his faith, hope and charity that impressed those of his contemporaries who heard him preach or had the good fortune to spend time with him….”
“Come and See”(John 1:39 Jesus told the disciples who showed interest in his life.
Come and see” Philip told Nathanael who expressed doubt in the authority of the Man from Nazareth.
“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we heard for ourselves,” (Jn 39-42) the townspeople told the Samaritan woman, after Jesus stayed in their village.
“Come and see” is the simplest method to get to know a situation. It is the most honest test of every message, because, in order to now, we need to encounter, to let the person in front of me speak, to let his or her testimony reach me,” Pope Francis emphasized.
Pope Francis expressing gratitude to the media men and women says, “Thanks to their effort, their ability to go where no one else thinks of going, we now know about the hardships endured by persecuted minorities in various parts of the world, numerous cases of oppression and injustice inflicted on the poor and on the environment, and many wars that otherwise would be overlooked.”