Kenyan Catholic Journalist Says He’s “honored to serve” on Synod Communication Commission

In October 2021, Pope Francis formally launched the two-year global consultation process leading to the 2023 synod on synodality with a call to “look others in the eye and listen to what they have to say.”

Earlier, in May last year, the Vatican had announced that the Synod on Synodality would open with a Diocesan phase lasting from October 2021 to April 2022. A continental phase, the second, is to take place from September 2022 to March 2023.

The third, which is the universal phase, would begin with the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, dedicated to the theme, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission” at the Vatican in October 2023.

In the April 27 interview with ACI Africa, Mr. Sunguh outlined what is expected of him as a member of the Communication Commission of the Synod.

“As a member of the Media Commission, my job will be to facilitate communication of the Synodal Journey in Africa,” he said from Rome where he is taking part in a Conference of Synod Commissions.

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The Mombasa-based Catholic journalist continued, “As stated by Cardinal Mario Grech, the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, the success of this synodal journey, convoked by the Holy Father, will depend greatly on our commission's ability to communicate both within and outside the ecclesiastical community.”

To achieve this, Mr. Sunguh said working with Catholic journalists in Africa to facilitate access to information about the synod “will be my top priority.”

He told ACI Africa that he intends to “ensure a free flow of information from the Synod of Bishops to scribes on the African continent.”

“Another member of the Commission from Africa is Bishop Bakhoum Hani Kiroulos of Egypt. Together we will put our best feet forward to deliver on this assignment,” Mr. Sunguh said.

He added, “The Synod of Bishops, as you are already aware, is the meeting of Bishops chosen from various regions of the world to assist the Pope with advice for the maintenance and advancement of faith and morals for the preservation and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline and also for the purpose of studying question concerning the Church's action in the world.”

Mr. Sunguh urged Catholic journalists in Africa to “come forward and evangelize the world through the media. The Holy Father looks up to us to be at the fore front to spread the gospel through our work.”

“Let the teachings of the Catholic Church be manifested through our work each day of our lives,” Mr. Sunguh told ACI Africa in the April 27 interview.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.