On World Communications Day, Kenya’s Catholic Journalists Urged “to convey God's presence”

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“Let us not be tied by earthly things. Let us go out and bring divine presence,” he said during the May 21 event that was held at Divine Word Kayole Parish (Diwopa) of ADN, adding, “Let us be people who will truly be like the pillar of cloud, which signifies the presence of God. Let us make sure that our Christians, the society, understand and appreciate the presence of the Lord all through.”

The Parish Priest of ADN’s St. Joseph Freinademetz Parish Ruai challenged Catholic communicators to come up with ways of reaching those “opposed” to the Gospel message.

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He said, “We need to find a way of slipping into the hearts of those who are against the Word of God. We must be able to take the Gospel even to places where we are opposed. We will be able to do that if we realize that the presence of God is with us,” 

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Fr. Njihia further challenged Catholic communicators to foster and practice the virtue of listening in their professional practice. 

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“One main component of communication is listening. In this world, we need to listen. Our success in bringing God's presence is in staying close to Christ. We cannot propagate the presence of God if we are not close to God,” he said.

The Kenyan Catholic Priest added, “As a communicator, we have to be open to voices even when someone is not making sense. Jesus left instructions to his disciples that they should go and baptize. They had to listen carefully to understand the instructions.”

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“Let's talk to each other if we want to build and heal, not destroy. Our words should be like those of Christ, which teach the world about His presence,” he said during the celebration that media entities in ADN organized for WCD 2023, the annual event that has been marked on Sunday before Pentecost since 1967 when Pope Paul VI established it. 

Celebrated globally under the theme, “Speaking with the Heart, the Truth with Love”, WCD 2023 held at Diwopa was organized by the 15 Catholic media houses in Nairobi Archdiocese.

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They include the Paulines Publications Africa, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops Communications (KCCB), the National Mirror, the Archdiocese of Nairobi, the New People Media Centre, the Messenger of Mary Immaculate, and Radio Maria Nairobi.

Others are Bayard Publications, the Bosco Eastern Africa Multimedia Services (BEAMS), the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa(AMECEA), The Seed magazine, Loyola Center for Media and Communications, Radio Waumini, Capuchin TV, and the Association for Catholic Information in Africa (ACI Africa).

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Speaking at the end of the Eucharistic celebration to mark WCD 2023 in Nairobi Archdiocese, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), David Omwoyo, called on Catholic media in the East African nation to foster collaboration and growth in professional practice.

David Omwoyo. Credit: ACI Africa