Accra, 13 August, 2025 / 10:56 PM
Catholic journalists in Africa have the responsibility to counter foreign media narratives that have “made nonsense” of the continent, an official of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has said.
In his remarks at the opening ceremony of the Union of the African Catholic Press (UCAP) Congress in Ghana’s capital, Accra, SECAM second Deputy Secretary General said that although Africa is “bleeding at various ends” amid violent conflicts in some countries, Catholic journalists on the continent should tell Africa’s story that inspire hope rather than despair.
Catholic journalists in Africa, Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina said, “have a responsibility to tell the story of Africa because the West and her media has made nonsense of Africa.”
Fr. Obodoechina challenged Africa’s Catholic media practitioners to “tell the truth that Africa has values, she has resources, she has people, she has good faith, she has a smile, she has happiness about life. Africa is not empty.”
“And that is the message and our contribution to the world that in us Africans, God is with us; that in spite of the travails, in spite of the vicissitudes of life in Africa, our life goes on in joy and happiness, and that is also our strength,” he said on Monday, August 11, the first day of the August 10-17 convention organized under the theme, “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).”
The native of Nigeria went on to highlight some of the vices in Africa that he said foreign media tend to focus on, including violent conflicts, hunger, impunity, and systemic corruption.
He described his native country as the giant of Africa that is “sleeping and limping with very corrupt leaders”, who he said have “failed to provide leadership for the African people.”
Fr. Obodoechina said he finds it unfortunate that Africa is perceived by the world as “a land that has no good news” due to corruption, impunity, recklessness, poverty, and hunger, yet there are “volumes of natural resources living the shores of Africa into Europe and America.”
“Our God-givenness and the embeddedness of the African persons in society and in the family is a strength that makes us go on despite all odds,” the SECAM official said.
He emphasized the need for UCAP members to communicate the truth, saying, “You Catholic media practitioners, you have a duty to communicate, as our fathers in faith told us, the truth in spite of the falsifications,”
“Resources will be a problem to be able to stand your feet and say the truth,” Fr. Obodoechina warned, and lauding UCAP members for realizing the continental Congress, said that their coming together is essential in “reawakening” their interest in the “communication enterprise.”
“As you communicate, bear in mind the obligations you have to do that in all witnessing to the truth that God is, that Jesus came to represent for us,” he said, emphasizing the urgency of having truth as the guide in media narratives.
He urged UCAP members to tell the truth for the wellbeing of the people of God in Africa, “relating the truth as it is, not only a partial truth, but entire truth as it is, so that in the end we would, as Jesus promised us, that we're going to have life in its abundance.”
“Let that life also be part of the organization and part of the world; that also be part of the message we are communicating today, that in spite of the difficulties of our time, God still lives and works efficiently among his people,” he said.
The 2025 UCAP Congress aims to examine how new media technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping communication and influencing daily life. Discussions are to explore strategies for safeguarding ethics, dignity, and justice in media practice.
The gathering has brought together scholars, experts, policymakers, corporate leaders, and journalists from across the continent.
Deliberating on a broad range of issues, participants are to come up with recommendations to guide governments, media organizations, and society at large. Outcomes from the Congress are to shape UCAP’s future training programs and professional guidelines.
Also speaking during the August 11 sessions, the president of the African region of the World Catholic Association for Communication, SIGNIS Africa, lauded UCAP members for the Congress and called for collaboration and networking among Catholic Media.
Fr. Walter Chikwendu Ihejirika recalled the emphasis in previous encounters between SIGNIS Africa representatives and UCAP members, saying, “At the heart of our interactions has always been the need for UCAP to become more integrated with SIGNIS”.
Fr. Walter used the occasion to extend his invitation to UCAP members to the planned 2026 SIGNIS World Congress in Rwanda, the first-ever SIGNIS World Congress in Africa scheduled from August 3-8 under the theme, “Digital communication for cultural harmony and environmental wellbeing.”
Organized every four years, SIGNIS World Congress “provides a platform for participants to engage in substantive discussions, exchange ideas, and contemplate the future trajectory of media and communication,” according to a SIGNIS report.
The report indicates that the decision to have Rwanda as the host of the 2026 Congress “was made during the SIGNIS Board of Directors meeting Bangkok, Thailand” as part of the commitment of SIGNIS “to fostering international collaboration among its members, associates, and affiliates.”
In his August 11 remarks, the President of SIGNIS Africa said, “I wish to use this opportunity to invite all the members of UCAP to this very important event, which will be coming up next year. We do hope that as numerous as we are here today, that we will also be able to see you all in Kigali, Rwanda.”
The last SIGNIS World Congress took place in the capital city of the Asian nation of South Korea, Seoul, in 2022. Canada’s city of Quebec played host to the 2017 SIGNIS World Congress, after the one of 2014 in the European city of Rome in Italy.
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