ETHIOPIA: The Church Must Prioritize Communication and Embrace New Media Trends, Says Bishop Lesanuchristos

Rt. Rev. Lesanuchristos Matheos, Bishop Chairman for Communication and Public Relation Commission at the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) has reiterated the importance of communications apostolate in the Catholic Church, saying that Communication is not just another activity of the Church but is at the very essence of her life.

In a keynote address to participants of SIGNIS Africa Conference held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Bishop Lesanuchristos who is the Local Ordinary for Bahirdar-Dessie Diocese indicated that without communication there can be no evangelization because communication is not simply one dimension of evangelization. He further expressed that the Catholic media, in an effective way, announces the “Good News” in a totally secularized society where there is a need to fight 24 hours against the devil.

“We are living in a new era in which new media continue to develop even further and technology continues to rapidly advance. With new Internet technology and applications, our methods of relating to one another have changed and continue to develop,” Bishop Lesanuchristos said, adding that there is no other ways for the Church to be vigilant for 24 hours in the secularized society without embracing the social media.

“The communication of the Good News of God’s love for all people, as expressed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is what unifies and makes sense of all the other aspects of the life of the Church and those wishing to communicate effectively and fruitfully must be technically competent and fully attentive to the cultural and environment within which they are operating.”

Bishop Lisanuchristus believes that the Catholic Church is aware of the fact that in the midst of all these technological advancement, every human being still desires truth, relationship, love and justice; therefore, it is God’s call to the Church to help satisfy these needs to every human person through the communication apostolate which translates into new evangelization.

According to the Bishop, the new media undoubtedly offers the African Church a greater opportunity to disseminate the Word of God more widely and more directly because the new technologies make it possible to present the timeless message of God’s love for his people more attractively and efficiently.

“We need to study and understand the new patterns of media use and how they affect the formation of our youth. We need to understand better how our message is being heard and understood by our beloved youth who are leaders of not only tomorrow but also today’s Churches, as His Holiness Pope Francis emphasized.”

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By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online New