Pauline communicators called to be heralds of hope in a culture of death

PASAY CITY, Philippines – Pauline communicators are called to be heralds of hope in a culture of death.

This was highlighted in the welcome address of Sister Noemi Vinoya, Provincial Superior of the Daughters of St Paul, at the 9^th Media Assembly at the Paulines Communication Centre Pasay City on 5-6 May 2017.

Over 20 Daughters of St Paul working in the various fields of communications media attended the annual assembly.

Touching on the theme of the assembly which is also that of World Communications Day: Fear Not, for I am With You: Communicating Hope and Trust in Our Time, she called on the participants to deepen their trust in God in being heralds of hope and of good news to others in a culture of death.

Sister Noemi also said the gathering was a “most favorable time” for sharing ideas, experiences, knowledge and skills in order to grow and improve in their apostolic ministry.

The WCD theme was reiterated by Sr Pinky Barrientos in her talk. She highlighted Pope Francis’ message, calling on the faithful “to break the vicious circle of anxiety and stem the spiral of fear resulting from a constant focus on bad news, creating a sense of hopelessness.”

She also noted four key points of the pope’s message: (1) to engage in constructive forms of communication and foster a culture of encounter; (2) never allow apathy or pessimism to overcome us (because of the bad news); (3) ‘read’ reality through the right lens by focusing on the good news; and (4) to be “witnesses and communicators” of a new and redeemed humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The workshop on producing social media content for evangelisation was handled by Sr Gemmaria dela Cruz. She presented some tips on how to produce short video clips. The participants were divided into eight groups of two for the video productions in the afternoon.

The productions were presented to the assembly on the second day. The assembly was very much encouraged by each team’s effort at short notice as expressed during the open forum.

With the approval of the assembly, the YouTube channel – Paulines RTV – created by Sr Gemmaria in 2013 was renamed Paulines Multimedia PMPT.

Participants also shared on significant productions or media activities carried out in their respective communities or sectors.

In the afternoon, Pauline Father Khris Llacer gave a talk on the spirituality of the Pauline communicator.

He stressed on the fact that the Pauline apostolate is a continuation of the work of Jesus Master Way, Way, Truth and Life. Without communications there are no Paulines. The characteristics of the spirituality of the Pauline communicator is threefold: sensitivity to the needs of the people of the present times online and offline; creativity in presenting the good news in an attractive way; and fidelity to the search for God along with the people.

The assembly ended with a concluding Mass and fellowship dinner at the PCC refectory.