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Catholic Journalists Have Big Role to Play in Evangelization: Malawian Catholic Priest

Credit: ECM

Journalists in the Catholic Church have a great responsibility of evangelizing the people by spreading messages that adhere to truth and other values of the Church, a Catholic Priest in Malawi has said.

In a Friday, December 10 report, the National Coordinator for Communications and Social Research at the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) says that the Catholic Church has values that can assist journalists to spread information in an objective and accurate way.

“Catholic journalists have a big role to play in the Church, helping in evangelization of the gospel to the people where they are, as they are, and also reaching out to the people with the truth on matters within the Catholic Church and the society in general,” Fr. Francis Damaseke has been quoted as saying.

Fr. Damaseke who was addressing participants in the annual general meeting of the Association of Catholic Journalists in Malawi (ACJ) said that the social teachings of the Catholic Church can guide journalists in their profession if they are embraced and applied appropriately for the greater good of the whole society.

Organized under the theme, “communicating by encountering people as they are, where they are,” the meeting was also used to elect new officials in the Association’s National executive committee.

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Speaking at the occasion, the outgoing chairperson, George Kasakula, called upon Catholics who are journalists and yet to join the association to do so saying that it is a way of showing solidarity with the Church.

“The Association is there to promote unity, networking and deeper understanding of the Catholic faith and values while supporting the Church in enhancing communication and evangelization,” Mr. Kasakula said.

He made reference to the period of COVID-19 and said that the association could not fulfil most of its activities as had been planned because of the effects that came with the pandemic.

On his part, the newly elected chairperson of ACJ in Malawi, Sam Kalimba, commented on the new task the executive has of bringing together Catholic journalists under the umbrella of the association saying that it will help the Church to foster professional communication on matters affecting the Church and society.

“I must appeal to the members however for their support towards initiatives of the Association,” Mr. Kalimba said, and added, “Their task is not just putting people into leadership positions but giving them the support needed in advancing objectives of ACJ otherwise we will not get to the levels we aspire to reach.”

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On election of new leaders, Fr. Damaseke advised the new executive team to seek God’s guidance first in every endeavor other than relying on their might and capabilities as professional communicators.

Fr. Peter Madeya, a representative from Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Malawi, presented activities and celebrations that the Church expects to undertake in the next three years, which “will call for involvement of the Catholic Journalists.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.