On World Communications Day, SIGNIS Africa Urges “connectedness, universal Ubuntu”

He notes that “when the majority of the inhabitants of the world have Ubuntu, they effortlessly speak with the heart,” and emphasizes, “The universal Ubuntu is the panacea for most of the global social and environmental problems. Pope Francis makes this clear.”

“Today more than ever, speaking with the heart is essential to foster a culture of peace in places where there is war, to open paths that allow for dialogue and reconciliation in places where hatred and enmity rage,” Fr. Ihejirika says referencing the theme of WCD 2023.

He continues, “We need communicators who are open to dialogue, engaged in promoting integral disarmament and committed to undoing the belligerent psychosis that nests in our hearts.”

Established in 1967 by Pope Paul VI, WCD that provides an opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of modern means of communication is marked on the Sunday before Pentecost. 

SIGNIS Africa President goes on to reflect on the theme guiding this year’s WCD message, and says that Pope Francis “completes his trilogy on the three verbs at the center of communication: seeing, hearing, and speaking.”

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For the three verbs to generate authentic human communication, the Nigerian Catholic Priest says, “they must spring up from the heart, because as the Pope stated, it is the heart that spurred us to go, to see and to listen, and it is the heart that moves us towards an open and welcoming way of communicating.”

“Pope Francis highlights the nature of any communication which springs from the heart: It is cordial, dialogical; and seeks and tells the truth with courage and freedom,” Fr. Ihejirika says.

Communication that springs from the heart, the Catholic Priest says, “puts the relationship with God and one's neighbor, especially the neediest, at the center.”

“It is a form of communication founded on humility in listening and parrhesia in speaking. Ultimately, it is communication rooted in the love of the other,” the President of SIGNIS Africa in his May 21 reflection on the occasion of WCD 2023. 

He implores, “As we celebrate World Communications Day, I pray that we all may have Ubuntu and speak the truth from the heart.”