Cebu media hold recollection with Palma

CEBU, Philippines - For the first time, Cebu media practitioners gathered in a half-day recollection with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma at the Archbishop’s Palace and agreed to hold the activity twice a year.

Palma was initially invited to celebrate the Holy Mass during the September 16 opening program of the Cebu Press Freedom Week at the SM Trade Hall.

However, he has a commitment in Danao City for the annual fiesta mass.

As an alternative, he gathered the Cebu media a week before the Cebu Press Freedom celebration in a recollection.

Palma said The FREEMAN columnist, Bobit Avila is the prime mover of the activity.

“For me, this is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to the media practitioners in that spirit of fraternity and bonding and of course, being aware of the importance of your ministry, I immediately said yes,” Palma said.

Palma was assisted by Msgr. Joseph Tan in the half-day activity.

 “We are looking forward to more gatherings with the archbishop and the media practitioners in the hope that we can bring you to work together, to bring truth and for the common good,” Tan said.

Palma introduced Tan, as the speaker, who is a gift from God to all of the participants.

“The Church has been tasked to exert pastoral care to the media practitioners. It is the nature of the church to render such care to the faithful. With the active participation of the media practitioner today, we look forward to happier times with them,” he added.

Tan, who will be in Cebu for just a few days as he will go back to Rome, Italy, said in his talk that yesterday’s gathering was something unusual because it is commonly perceived that the Church and the media make strange bedfellows.

He said it is presumed that the church looks at the media as “anti-church” and that the media is also presumed to look at the church as “defensive”.

He said that in Cebu, the relationship between Church and media has always been anchored on the value of “generosity”, which in the original sense of the word, signifies that each party does what is expected of it in terms of function and responsibility.

“And so for this reason, the relationship is best described as one of active collaboration and all in the service of the common good of the Cebuano people,” he said.

Tan urged the media people to be sensitive to the faith dimension of everyday life and to create good news for the life of the world.

“As people given the responsibility to determine what is important and to offer our analysis of what is important – let us also continue to develop and remain sensitive to the promptings of our own interior life and the need to nurture our spirit,” he said.

“Let us make our work in news making our real calling that gives meaning to our existence and that of being service to the truth for the good of all. People depend on the news to understand their world. We, therefore, need to purify ourselves so that our vision of things may not be clouded by unprofessionalism and selfishness,” he added. —/MBG (FREEMAN)