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Catholic Communicators in Africa Covering Synod on Synodality Urged to “protect image of the Church”

Fr. Rafael Simbine Junior Secretary General of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). Credit: ACI Africa

Catholic communicators in Africa have been urged to “work and protect the image of the Church” as they cover the ongoing Synod on Synodality.

Speaking during a Friday, June 7 webinar, Fr. Rafael Simbine Junior Secretary General of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) reminded communicators of their role to evangelize “amid forces seeking to destroy the Church”.

“We are living in a time that is hostile to the Church. Evil forces are seeking to destroy the Church and are using the media,” Fr. Simbine said at the webinar that members of the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) organized in partnership with the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC).

He added, “Make a difference, don't allow yourself to be influenced by such media. You are the apostles of Jesus.”

“Use your communication tools to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, protect the church and her ministers,” the member of the Clergy of Mozambique’s Catholic Diocese of Xai-Xai said.

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Fr. Simbine also urged Catholic communicators in Africa to “walk with the Church.”

He said, “Synodality is an invitation to you too in communication to be an integral part of this walking together that the Church is experiencing since 2021.”

“Please don't limit yourself to speaking about what is happening in the Church, but allow yourself to be part of this synodal experience,” the SECAM Secretary-General said. 

The Mozambican Catholic Priest further called on Catholic communicators in Africa to “work for the growth of the Church in Africa.”

“One of the great teachings of the synodal path is communion. Pope Francis repeated many times that by working together we are capable of great things and an African proverb says Unity is strength,” he said.

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Fr. Simbine continued, “You have been working hard, even though our communication as a Church in Africa and its Islands is still weak. Something is missing and that is walking and working together.”

“If we continue to do things, each in our path, we will remain weak and last in the global sphere,” he said.

The SECAM Secretary-General lauded the initiative of IMBISA and SACBC to gather as a region and to plan and discuss matters of concern of the region.

“Please try to motivate other regions to do so,” he said, calling on the Catholic communicators to “closely work” with SECAM’s  Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS).

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.