Catholic communicators

The leaders of Catholic communication, from fifteen nations, assembled in Manila from September 7 through September 17. The subject of their deliberation was: How to bring the deep, human values of the Gospel to the children of God in Asia.

The nations represented were: Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Macau, and Belgium.

They were billeted at Orchid Garden Suites, on what used to be called Vito Cruz, just opposite the Century Park Hotel. There were forty delegates from outside the country, twenty-seven from the Philippines. Two were Bishops; many were priests; but there was a strong battery of laymen, and an even stronger representation of women! For the Catholic Church, this is an advance!

In the world organization of Catholic communicators, two out of three officers are laymen. From the Asian organization, two out of four officers are women. In the national organization of the Philippines, there are no priests or Bishops among the officers. The President and Secretary are women. The Vice President is a layman, a professional, working in radio, in television, and in film.

This is a vivid portrayal of the fact that the Catholic Church is not the Hierarchy – the Bishops and the priests. In the Philippines, there is only one priest for every twenty thousand Catholics. The Church, in this country, is the seventy million Catholic parishioners. The task of bringing God to men, in the Philippines, rests on the shoulders of the rank and file of the church – men, women, youth, even the children. And the Catholic communicators know that!

On the first night of their Assembly, the media men and women were hosted, for dinner, at Malacañang, by the President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She was extremely gracious. She shook hands with every delegate, and talked with them about their country. She was completely conversant with the problems of each country, in the entire continent of Asia.

On the next evening, they had dinner in the residence of His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin, at Villa San Miguel. Ambassador Henrietta Tambunting de Villa gave them a beautiful description of the Fourth World Meeting of Families, which is scheduled from January of the Year 2003, in the Philippine International Convention Center, and in the Luneta. She also explained the five preliminary festivals of the Archdiocese: for fathers, for mothers, for youth, for children, and for the whole family. The hope is that the communicators will conduct festivals like this, each in his own country.

On the evening of Monday, September 16, they were hosted by the Mayor of Manila, Lito Atienza. He not only met each delegate – he welcomed each one at the door! This evening was completely Filipino, in the décor, in the food that was served, and in the Bayanihan Dancers, who performed after dinner. The Mayor was the right man to introduce the dancers, because he himself danced with the Bayanihan for eight years – from the time he was nineteen, until he was twenty-seven. He fell in love with one of the beautiful girls who was dancing with him, and married her when he was twenty-five – his wife, Beng.

Lito Atienza is the Chairman of Pro-Life, Philippines. When he ran for Vice Mayor, many veteran politicians said: "A Pro-Lifer will never win in the Philippines!" But Lito Atienza won. He ran for a second term, and won again. Then he ran for Mayor, and was elected. He ran for a second term, and was elected.

His strength has always been his faith, and his music. Listening to the rondalla of the Bayanihan, before the dancing began, he said: "I have heard that music a thousand times. I have danced to that music for years on end, all over the world, and in almost all of the cities and towns in the Philippines. And I never get tired of it. It does something to me. I love it, still."

The Communicators who came to this Assembly in Manila are all members of: "Signis." Actually, communication in the Catholic Church has been carefully organized for 75 years. But until November of 2001, the electronic media were divided into two: UNDA for radio and for television; OCIC – Office Catholique Internationale du Cinema – for audio visuals and for film. Last November, in Rome, the two older organizations were dissolved, and one new single organization was formed, for all communication, called; Signis.

There were two reasons for this: first, the means of communication, changing so swiftly are drawing all media closer to each other; second, a single organization enables all the Catholic Communicators to work together, in harmony, toward the same objectives.

Signis/World is divided into six continents; Signis/Europe, Signis/Africa, Signis/North America, Signis/South America, Signis/Asia, Signis/Oceania. The President, Vice President, and Secretary of Signis/World attended this Assembly of Signis/Asia. The Philippines was chosen as the meeting place, because – of the 120 million Catholics in Asia – 70 million are in the Philippines.

The Assembly concentrated on the five overarching problems of the vastly divergent cultures of Asia:

1. Poverty
2. Peace
3. The Degradation of Morals
4. The Dissolution of the Family
5. The universal need for training and formation, among the Catholic Communicators of Asia.

Bringing the Word of God to Asia – which is two-thirds of the world’s population, two percent Christian, only 1.5 percent Catholic – looks like "Mission Impossible!" But it is no more difficult than the task which faced the twelve poor fishermen in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, who were told to "go and teach all nations all the things that I have taught you." . . . With the grace of God, we can do it . . . And we will!