ACI Africa news agency aims to tell stories from ‘the grassroots’

“Resist from armchair journalism, resist from fake news, report the truth and communicate Christ,” Sr. Lando said.

“I am challenging the Catholic journalists and the ACI Africa team for ethical, objective and truthful reporting, she added.

The CEO of Kenya’s government-run Media Council offered similar encouragement.

“I urge that the media of the Church may pause and make sure that the message they pass across is verified and true so as to assist in passing the message of good will and a message that promotes human life in all its aspects,” David Onwoyo said during remarks at the event.

Fr. Andrew Kaufa, who represented the association of East African bishops’ conferences at the event, called for collaboration among media apostolates in Africa.

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“Let us collaborate and as Church communicators we play a positive role,” Kaufa said, praising ACI Africa’s “efforts to promote sharing of Church stories and the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The apostolic nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan urged reflection about Catholic approaches to media.

“Much of the communication today is taken by forces that work against the Church and God himself, especially the Western world is very much taken by agnostic if not atheist doctrines, which try to expel God from the public sphere in normal communication channels,” Archbishop Bert van Megen told attendees.

Mentioning the European Union and “Communist China,” specifically, van Megan added that “of the large number of important nations on this earth...very few of them really live the Christian values; some of them combat Christianity.”

“It is up to us we people who believe in Christ, we people who are sons and daughters of the Virgin Mary to be announcers of the good news, to be communicators, to go out into the world and announce redemption, (the) mercy of God and the love of God in which we find out the true dignity,” he said.

“It is very good that we have institutions like ACI Africa that try to counter the voices of darkness that many times have taken possessions of many of the media,” the nuncio concluded.

“It is in the message of Christ that we find truth; it is in the message of Christ that we find true freedom; it is in the message of Christ that we find a secure road, the way into this life, it is in Christ that we find true happiness.”