Church officials attend workshop to enhance skills

Representatives of Catholic dioceses have attended a media workshop in Port Moresby to develop knowledge and skills to enhance their communication possibilities to reach out to people.
The participants from the dioceses of Goroka, Madang, Kavieng, Rabaul, Mt Hagen, Mendi, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, and Gizo, Solomon Island, including staff of Don Bosco Technological Institute participated in activities to have an insight of what happened in media outlets and how they can partner with them.
The four-day workshop in Port Moresby which started on Sept 29 saw them involved in interviewing, recording, photo shooting, creating a facebook page, radio communication, listening to experience of media professionals and company’s expectations and visiting a media outlet. Speaking during first day of the workshop at DBTI, director of SIGNIS Services Rome Fr Fabrizio Colombo said: “Communication technologies change people and society. The Catholic Church does not operate in isolation but with communication technologies.”
Fr Colombo, together with Fr Ambrose Pereira, Sr Daisy Anne Lisania, and Bishop Rochus Tatamai of Bereina Diocese and deputy chair of the Catholic Bishops Conference Social Communications and the Commission on Social Communications (SOCOM) guided the four-day seminar and workshop.
Participants were urged to use social and mainstream media to communicate the gospel.
“Do not be afraid to use social media for conversational evangelisation,” Fr Ambrose said.
The SOCOM is now working towards fulfilling the new joint Conference Pastoral Plan (2015-2020) for the Catholic Church in PNG and Solomon Islands.
This can assist the CBC and the church in attracting media attention on social, moral and religious issues.