Bishop Wallace challenged Catholic media practitioners to actively engage in Jubilee events, saying, “Let us not give the information and it is not benefiting us. Let us also be the first beneficiaries of this particular message.”
Highlighting the role of media in evangelization, the Kenyan Bishop encouraged collaboration with agents of evangelization at all levels, from parishes to the universal Church.
“One thing we need to do in communication is that we are invited to enhance evangelization using the media, especially in this Jubilee year,” he said and urged media practitioners to ensure that all Christians are informed about Jubilee activities and to organize local events such as pilgrimages for media professionals.
The Bishop also addressed the challenge of misinformation in modern media. “We are living in a world where there’s a lot of misinformation and falsehood. Let us disseminate the truth to give hope to those who read and watch what we communicate,” he said.
He called on Catholic and secular media to prioritize truthful reporting that gives hope to the people, and to avoid focusing solely on negative and sensational news,
Pope Francis officially launched the 2025 Jubilee Year on the Eve of Christmas 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Announcing the start of a Year of Prayer on 21 January 2024 in preparation for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his Pontificate after the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015, the Holy Father said that the yearlong initiative will be “dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, in the life of the Church, and the world.”
In his message on January 21, the KCCB vice chairman, Archbishop Anthony Muheria explained what the Jubilee Year is all about, stressing the need for media professionals to understand the liturgical aspects of Jubilee celebrations.
“Familiarize yourself with the rite and with what is going to happen. Familiarize yourself with the symbolism so that, as you also explain and commentate on what is happening, you are making the people desire to be there and to be united,” Archbishop Muheria said.
The Archbishop of Kenya’s Nyeri Archdiocese added, “There is a lot more happening there than what we see, and your camera should capture it, and your voice commentary should capture it only if you have done your groundwork to understand the rites or to understand what is expected.”