SECAM: Communication from the Heart Encourages “Universal Ubuntu,” President of SIGNIS Africa

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

During the celebration to mark the 57^th World Communications Day (WCD), the president of SIGNIS Africa has reflected on Pope Francis message on speaking with the heart as a way of encouraging the African philosophy of Ubuntu that discourages individualism and supports collectivism.

“From an African perspective, I believe that the Pope’s invitation to speak with the heart can be best understood through the prism of the word Ubuntu, which denotes the connectedness that exists or should exist between people,” Fr. Walter Chikwendu Ihejirika shared in his message for WCD dated Sunday, May 21, the very day for the event worldwide.

He narrates that when the majority of inhabitants of the world have Ubuntu, “they effortlessly speak with the heart,” since “universal Ubuntu is the panacea for most of the global, social and environmental problems.”

According to the SIGNIS Africa President, Ubuntu is the “correct behaviour in relations with other people, that is, behaving well towards others or acting in ways that benefit the community.”

“It also referred to the need for forgiveness and reconciliation rather than vengeance. When a person behaves in these ways, he or she is said to have ubuntu. Having Ubuntu makes one a full person,” He explained.

Echoing Pope Francis message on the theme for the 57^th WCD inspired by St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians; “Speaking with the heart-The truth in love,” Fr Walter Ihijierika emphasized that any communication which springs from the heart, “is cordial, dialogical; and seeks and tells the truth with courage and freedom. It is communication which puts the relationship with God and one’s neighbour, especially the neediest, at the centre.”

“It is a form of communication founded on humility in listening and parrhesia in speaking. Ultimately, it is communication rooted in the love of the other.”

Fr. Ihejirika underscored that as the head of the Catholic Church says, “Today more than ever, speaking with the heart is essential to foster a culture of peace in places where there is war, to open paths that allow for dialogue and reconciliation in places where hatred and enmity rage,” he continued.

In this case the priest stressed on the need to have “communicators who are open to dialogue, engaged in promoting integral disarmament and committed to undoing the belligerent psychosis that nests in our hearts.”

As he references Pope Francis’ 2023 message for WCD, the cleric noted that “It is the heart that spurred us to go, to see and to listen, and it is the heart that moves us towards an open and welcoming way of communicating.”