SECAM Célébrer l'ACI Afrique à 5: Têtes au Ciel avec des pieds fermement sur le terrain

A l'occasion de la célébration du 5ème anniversaire de l'Association pour l'information catholique en Afrique (ACI Afrique), le 9 août 2024, au JJ MacCarthy Centre, Riverside Drive, Nairobi Kenya, Mgr Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, évêque d'Oyo et président du Comité épiscopal panafricain de communication sociale (CEPACS), a présenté un discours liminaire.

Vous trouverez ci-dessous l'adresse du Chef du CEPACS, département de communication du Symposium des Conférences épiscopales d'Afrique et de Madagascar (SECAM).

Vous trouverez ci-dessous l'adresse du Chef du CEPACS, département de communication du Symposium des Conférences épiscopales d'Afrique et de Madagascar (SECAM).

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Célébration de l'ACI Afrique à 5: Têtes au Ciel avec les pieds fermement sur le terrain

Un discours de M. Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo,

Votre Excellence, Mgr Wallace Ng-ang-a, évêque auxiliaire de l'archidiocèse de Nairobi et président de la Commission de communication sociale, Conférence des évêques catholiques du Kenya (KCCB)

Excellences, M. George Wirncka, Directeur du marketing en Afrique,

Le Père Don Bosco Onyalla, Directeur et membres de l'Association pour l'information catholique, Afrique,

Les membres de la famille EWTN,

La Fraternité des Médias,

Des invités distingués ici présents,

C'est un grand honneur et un plaisir pour moi ici aujourd'hui de représenter le Symposium des Conférences épiscopales d'Afrique et de Madagascar, (SECAM) et plus particulièrement son président, Son Eminence, le cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, archevêque de Kinshasa. Je donne ce discours-programme en tant que Président du Comité épiscopal panafricain de la communication sociale (CEPACS) le comité qui représente le SECAM dans l'apostolat de communication de l'Église en Afrique pour marquer cette occasion propice de la célébration du 5ème anniversaire de l'ACI Afrique, qui a au cours de ces années, émergé comme un joyau de l'apostolat de communication de l'Église en Afrique. Je vous apporte des sentiments chaleureux de félicitations et de bonne volonté de tous ceux que je représente ici en tant qu'invité spécial.

ACI: Le voyage ici

Des invités distingués, cinq ans dans la vie de n'importe quelle organisation peut en effet sonner comme un court laps de temps. Toutefois, lorsque les objectifs pour lesquels cette entité a été établie ont été largement bien centrés, comme dans le cas de l'ACI, la célébration, même à l'âge de 1 an, est acceptable, sinon tout à fait opportune.

Le lancement d'ACI Afrique, officialisé sur la solennité de l'Assomption de la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie de 2019 s'est avéré être un événement important pour l'Eglise. Le Rédacteur en chef des pionniers, le Père Don Bosco Onyalla, qui a facilité son décollage, avait déjà acquis une expérience précieuse en tant que rédacteur en chef de l'Agence de presse catholique pour l'Afrique (CANAA), une agence de presse créée et parrainée par SECAM qui traversait des temps difficiles. Pour la bonne fortune, ACI a été mis en place comme un réseau d'information de l'Éternel Word Television Network (EWTN), fondé par Mère Angelica, PCPA, en 1981, qui était alors devenu un formidable réseau ayant existé pendant 28 ans. Cette expérience a bien compté pour l'ACI. J'applaudis et je remercie EWTN qui est actuellement le plus grand apostolat médiatique catholique au monde avec ses différents médias (chaînes de télévision, réseaux radio, publication, nouvelles et présence numérique) qui atteignent plus de 435 millions de foyers dans 160 pays et territoires.

Au cours de ces cinq années mouvementées, ACI Africa a fait de bons progrès, faisant état des événements en Afrique et dans ses îles du point de vue catholique, en anglais et en français, et souhaitant le faire bientôt en portugais, répondant ainsi aux trois groupes de langue officielle du SECAM. Il est réconfortant de savoir que depuis sa fondation, l'ACI a publié plus de 11 000 histoires pour l'évangélisation et l'information de Dieu.

Au moment du lancement de l'ACI Afrique, l'Eglise en Afrique avait souhaité une plate-forme d'information qui pourrait réaliser la vision SECAM's articulée lors de la création du CEPACS en 1973 à Ibadan, Nigeria, ce qui, on pourrait dire, représentait le lancement officiel de l'apostolat de communication en Afrique. Cette vision, mise à jour lors du Synode des évêques pour l'Afrique en 1994, exigeait que l'Eglise en Afrique coordonne son activité médiatique, poursuive la solidarité pastorale organique et projette l'identité et l'esprit de l'Eglise en tant que Famille de Dieu. Ces mêmes sentiments ont été améliorés et mis à jour à différentes occasions à ce jour. L'assemblée générale du CEPACS, qui s'est tenue à Lagos, au Nigeria, à l'occasion de son 50e anniversaire, en novembre 2024, a fait allusion à ce fait dans ses recommandations finales soulignant l'importance de « reconnaître le rôle noble de la communication sociale dans l'approfondissement de la foi et la promotion de l'esprit du Synode sur la synodalité sur le continent ».

En d'autres termes, l'Eglise a souhaité des entités médiatiques qui soutiendraient sa mission d'évangélisation, projeteraient son profil pastoral en tant que Famille de Dieu et promouvraient un échange synodal sain dans l'Eglise sur tout le continent tout en « aidant l'Afrique à raconter sa propre histoire » au monde.

Je félicite EWTN et tous ses visionnaires qui, en créant ACI Afrique, ont reconnu l'importance du témoignage et de l'expérience pastorale de l'Eglise en Afrique et ainsi, investis avec éloge dans l'amplifiement de la voix de l'Eglise ici. La validité de cette décision se manifeste clairement dans la contribution de l'Afrique au processus en cours du Synode sur la synodalité, son témoignage de la sainteté de la vie et du sacrement du mariage, sans oublier l'importance d'apporter des valeurs africaines chères de solidarité et la joie de vivre dans le monde entier.

ACI: comme les choses sont aujourd'hui

Le travail de l'ACI, qui transmet librement des informations des diocèses catholiques, des institutions, des chefs religieux, des prêtres, des religieux et des fidèles laïcs, de l'Afrique au monde entier, a considérablement amélioré l'exposition et la sensibilisation au travail et à la vie de l'Église en Afrique. Il a encouragé et inspiré de nombreux agents pastoraux et les fidèles, qui savent maintenant que les nouvelles sur les activités simples d'évangélisation et de pastorale qu'ils mènent à la base peuvent atteindre n'importe quelle partie du monde.

L'ACI, en tant qu'agence d'information catholique phare en Afrique, soutient donc déjà l'objectif du Synode sur la synodalité au sujet des fidèles se déplaçant davantage ensemble dans la participation, la communion et la mission. J'ai entendu dire que les moyens de diffusion des médias peuvent changer, mais un bon journalisme, ne peut changer. Je suis ravi de dire qu'ACI a amélioré les moyens et le contenu d'un bon journalisme catholique au cours de ces cinq années. Encore une fois, je dis kudos au rédacteur en chef et à ses collaborateurs.

J'ose dire que la vision du fondateur de l'ACI Prensa, à Lima, au Pérou, le missionnaire combonien le Père Adalbert Marie Mohm, a été réalisée même dans l'Eglise en Afrique. La vision du P. Mohm était d'avoir un flux de nouvelles catholiques vers le monde laïque et d'accroître la visibilité de l'Église catholique sur la place publique pour l'aider à servir la mission de l'Église. Remerciez Dieu pour ACI Afrique et je prie avec la prière du Synode: «Que l'Esprit Saint nous enseigne la manière dont nous devons aller à partir de maintenant, et comment nous devons poursuivre cette vision» (Ad sumus).

Chercher un avenir meilleur

Permettez-moi maintenant d'apporter deux points de vue importants à ce rendez-vous anniversaire. Premièrement, je demande que nous nous rappelions que sans communication, il n'y a pas d'évangélisation et qu'il n'y a pas d'Église parce que la communication est constitutive de l'annonce de l'Évangile et de la mission de l'Église. Cette vérité inlassable persiste même dans les trois concepts principaux du thème général du Synode sur la synodalité, à savoir la communion, la participation et la mission. Deuxièmement, je voudrais attirer notre attention sur l'appel du Synode lui-même pour que l'Église devienne une présence chrétienne impactée dans l'espace numérique. J ' espère que ce faisant, je contribuerai à la feuille de route et à la viabilité d ' une future vision de l ' ACI en Afrique.

1. The Divine, Communication, and the Mission of the Church

There is a famous quote attributed to Karl Rahner (1904-2004), one of the great Catholic theologians of the 20th century, which says: “In the days ahead, you will either be a mystic or nothing at all.”[1] Rahner is not talking about a mystic as someone enclosed in a monastery, but a baptized person who experiences God in the real ordinary life. It is a man or woman who is conscious of God’s presence in day-to-day life, a baptized person who is aware that there is a constant communication between the Divine and the human person. This Divine reality is the one who makes communication a constitutive element to the happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction of His creature, the human being. When the human being is communicating with God in love, we call that prayer, it really means that the two are in communion.

The implications of Rahner’s theology of communication in the first place, is that before the human being’s desire to communicate with God, there is God’s desire to communicate with his creatures. The essence of God’s communication is thus, his love for humanity (John 3:17). That is why, communication does not take place in a vacuum but in a context; in what is happening in real life; around us and within us.

The Instrumentum Laboris for the second session of the XVI Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, argues that even during the synodal journey which started in October 2021, we must believe that God has always been in conversation with the Church – the people of God. Even in moments when the synodal journey exposed us to painful experiences, God was with his people. Thus, we find this passage:

Through his Church, guided by his Spirit, the Lord wants to rekindle hope in the hearts of humanity, restore joy and save all, especially those whose faces are stained with tears and who cry out to Him in anguish. Their cries reach the ears of all Christ’s disciples, men and women who walk in the depths of human affairs.

In this regard the iconic opening words of Gaudium Et Spes also inspire the Church:

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.

This means that God whose very nature is love, would stop at nothing, He will employ every bit of His creation to communicate Himself at any moment so much that a human being who grows in close union with him through prayer, discovers the Divine presence in every facet of the human experience – in grief or anxiety, joy or sorrow, poverty or riches, hope or despair.[2]

Does this say anything to Catholic media houses and communicators? Of course, yes! In fact, Rahner helps to highlight the relevance and meaning of human communication in the context of our faith and ministry in the Church. In this world, the Church is expected to champion authentic communication in the footsteps of Christ the Perfect Communicator, whose mission was to teach all about the Good News and the Kingdom of God.[3]. With the background of this understanding, the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, says of the mission of the Church:

Since the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race, it desires now to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission.[4]

Here, the Theology of Communication underlines the task and urgency of transmitting the Gospel. There we find an imperative for Church communicators, to enter into authentic relationship with God so that they can communicate with God and about God, from their personal experience and knowledge, to his people especially the marginalized.

What happens when a Church communicator or media house does not establish such a relationship with God? Without that personal relationship with God, a Church communicator can only become a danger to the people of God; a ‘Number 1’ cause of misinformation and disinformation; an atheist whose work becomes identical to the scaffolds at the Babel Tower construction site. Such a Church media house or communicator simply cannot inspire hope or bear witness to the mysterious presence of God among His people.

2. Doing Our Mission in the Digital Space II

In the past 3 years, the journey of Synodality has highlighted the fact that the Church does not only have a mission in the world; rather, that her very nature is mission. The Church exists in order to announce and witness the Gospel to those who do not know it, “with a preferential option for the poor, rooted in the mission of Christ.[5] In this mission, the Synod insists that this is a shared responsibility among lay men and lay women, those in consecrated life, and ordained ministers, each according to their charisms and vocation, nourished by the Holy Spirit. Aware that communication is a work largely undertaken by the laity, the understanding is that it is everybody’s responsibility, through the communication platforms, to connect the people with God, just as the ordained ministers and the Consecrated men and women do through other apostolates.

The Primary Agents of the Task

In carrying out this task the institutions, Catholic media houses, groups, associations and especially the academics, professionals and practitioners like those under the banner of SIGNIS Africa and other Christian partners have huge competence and responsibility. They must work together and indeed be a huge asset for the message of the Gospel and the mission of the Church. The ultimate goal is to evangelize the global media space with Christian and human values and ethics. Some days ago, ACI solicited my reaction to the parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting, “The Last Supper” at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games in France. The president of Signis Africa, Professor Walter Ihejirika latched onto my reaction and recommended it to the Catholic Communicators under the aegis of Signis. ACI too made a good story out of it. Both initiatives propelled the apologetics onto many channels globally as an African voice on the controversy. It did not go unnoticed. This is a positive example of what collaboration could do for the Gospel and Church Leaders on matters of religious relevance.

I am thankful for such collaboration which is already functional between SECAM and the APO group, owned by a Catholic entrepreneur, Mr. Nicholas Pompine. The APO Group is the leading pan-African communications consultancy and press release distribution service which has for 3 years now offered worldwide coverage for African Church stories and events and provided training sessions for African catholic communicators in modern media skills. Such synergy and collaboration should bring ACI to work even more in the purview and vision of the Dicastery for Communication and boost the growing communication apostolate in Africa. I commend a similar development especially in Signis Africa which is now preparing to host a Signis Congress in Kigali Rwanda in 2026. It is the first time the African Continent is hosting this global event, veritable evidence that the apostolate is making positive progress in Africa. The Signis World event will bring top media professionals from all over the world to experience Africa in her pastoral diversity and richness. I call on EWTN, our longstanding partner, ACI, and the APO Group to collaborate with Signis Africa in hosting this historic World Congress. What a powerful, wonderful asset such a Catholic media platform would be for pastoral communication in this era of Synodality!

Towards Full Presence

This role of the Catholic media in communication is even more urgent now in this digital environment which has changed our perception of many things including the perception of time, space, our bodies and interpersonal relationships.[6] This digital environment is a new frontier for the Church, and can be better understood only by listening to and working with the young people, the Gen Zee, who have the profound experience of growing and living in it. I see this as a concern also for ACI in sourcing for content, relevant to this generation. Signis Africa is already making some effort in training and motivating young citizen journalists among the youth for collaboration in evangelization.

Thankfully, the Dicastery for Communication, in an important document issued less than 2 years ago entitled “Towards Full Presence: A pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Digital Media”, gave guidelines on ethical considerations related to the Social Media and the engagement of Catholics within that space to prioritize authentic communication as self-giving in love. Such an exercise must aim at the primacy of the truth as the document states:

To communicate truth, we must first make sure that we are conveying truthful information; not only in creating content but also in sharing it. We must make sure that we are a trusted source. To communicate goodness, we need quality content, a message that is oriented to help, not to harm; to promote positive action, not to waste time in useless discussions. To communicate beauty, we need to make sure that we are communicating a message in its entirety, which needs the art of contemplation – an art that enables us to see a reality or an event linked to many other realities and events [7]

These valuable perspectives must colour the work of ACI in providing and circulating authentic content for engagement with the digital media, too. ACI can thus help the faithful, especially the youths to become community-building content co-creators, less concerned with personal agenda and interest on the Digital space as proposed by the dicastery.[8] In reality, it is necessary for catholic media like ACI to be more daring about proposing ethical considerations on the Digital Media and generating content to draw attention to the issue.[9] A good lead can be taken from the words of the Prefect for the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication, Dr Paolo Ruffini when he called for the Church to take a leading role in shaping the ethical framework for artificial intelligence (AI), when he spoke recently at the Philippines’ 7th National Catholic Social Communications Convention.

Obviously, doing mission in the digital environment is still a challenge for us in the African Church communication. Many Church leaders and personnel still need support and training to function well at this level. The internet, the social media and all digital communication platforms have a great potential to improve people’s lives if harnessed by the Church. Thus, the Synod has insisted that it is an urgent need to consider how we can support the young people, but also families, and ensure that the online space is not only safe but also spiritually life-giving.”[10] In this regard, we are reminded of the need to avoid individualistic, exploitative tendencies which are encouraged by the virtual platforms. Instead, the Church must promote human interaction, collaboration, pooling and sharing of resources, and above all, working together for the mission of the Church. This, in my view is an urgent charge for all Catholic Media and media professionals.

We must also consider the type of content which the Catholic media platforms give priority to. In this regard, Bishop Patrick Kalilombe said, “We cannot ignore the legitimate demands of those who finance the media, nor can we afford to neglect the tastes and expectations of the audience,[11] especially the poor. In fact, the Instrumentum Laboris says that the Synod has revealed the need to recognize diversity and plurality as opportunities of exchange of gifts in one Church that is united under the Petrine ministry.[12] In a recent keynote address to Signis Africa, on the implications of Synodality for communication I invited Catholic Communicators to review the personalities to whom they offer (their pens, microphones and lenses) coverage in a bid to uncover the authentic, comprehensive voice and experience of the entire Church and be true to the spirit of the synod about carrying along those at the margins.[13] These must include precisely, the youth, women, the unlettered at the margins either by solicitation or commissioning.

For emphasis, while we must integrate digital technologies in Church communication, we also need to identify the dangers they hold, lest we find ourselves to be enemies of authentic human communication and align with a situation where modernity and pluralism become identical to neglect of the promotion of spiritual values of the Catholic faith and African cultures.

Conclusion

In concluding, I want to return to what has brought us together today, the 5th anniversary of the foundation of ACI Africa. Nobody can ignore the impact and growth of ACI in such a short span of time. We must thank God for all that. Bravo, and keep it up! Nobody can ignore the professional touch in your online news and the aesthetic outlook of your news platform. Keep going! Nobody can undermine the richness of ACI online in terms of variety of news from across Africa. However, as it is often said, the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement! So, I ask you, to roll up your sleeves as there is still work to do. I am aware that you too have your numerous challenges, I would be surprised if you did not, but God will show you how to overcome them with faith and perseverance and SECAM will do whatever it can to contribute to solving them in the coming years.

In this modest address I have expressed appreciation and felicitations to ACI Africa for these 5 wonderful years. I have also asked us to recall that communication without God in the heart of the communicator becomes devoid of the divine which is a constitutive element to the profession and media ministry in the Church. Finally, I have proposed a few things to take note of as the future unfolds in ACI’s effort to enrich the Synodal process while projecting the life of the Church in Africa. Therefore, let us strive to become ‘Mystic but contemporary Communicators’ so that our communication ministries are marked by God’s love and passion for the mission which Christ left us who are now the “digital missionaries”, disciples in the digital environment. Like authentic saints, I urge all connected with ACI Africa to, in the years ahead: “Have your heads in heaven but your feet firmly planted here on the ground”.

Thank you for listening/reading.

Long Live ACI Africa!

Long Live EWTN

Long Live the Catholic Church!

By Most Reverend Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo,

Bishop of Oyo and President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communication (CEPACS), the communication department of SECAM.

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NOTES

[1] Robert Choiniere. The Engaged Parish, 2024, p. 25ff.

[2] Vatican Council II. Gaudium et Spes: Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, 1965, #1.

[3] Patrick Kalilombe. The Theology of Communication. Published in African Ecclesial Review, vol. XV, 1973, p.205.

[4] Vatican Council II. Lumen Gentium, #1.

[5] General Secretariat of Synod on Synodality. Synthesis Report for the First Session of the XVI Synod of Bishops, chapter 8b.

[6] Synthesis Report, Chapter 17.

[7] Dicastery for Social Communication, Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement With Social Media, No 66.

[8] Towards Full Presence, 67-68.

[9] Only last week a Business program on Nigerian National Television reported that the European Commission has made the first laws and regulations for different types of Artificial Intelligence depending on how risky they are. And contravention can attract sanction of up to 7 percent of the global assets of those business companies. That is stiff penalty, which shows a growing awareness, even in the business world to checkmate the risks of rampaging Artificial Intelligence, despite its advantages.

[10] Synthesis Report, Chapter 17f.

[11] Patrick Kalilombe, p.302.

[12] Instrumentum Laboris II, 80-88, 95-99.

[13] The preparatory document of the Synod on Synodality said: “The proclamation of the Gospel is not addressed only to an enlightened or chosen few. Jesus’ interlocutor is the “people” of ordinary life, the “everyone” of the human condition, whom he puts directly in contact with God’s gift and the call to salvation. In a way that surprises and sometimes scandalizes the witnesses, Jesus accepts as interlocutors all those who emerge from the crowd” (Preparatory Document no. 18)