Report of the Karnataka Region Catholic Bishop’s Council, Bangalore

KARNATAKA REGION CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on August 8 2018

The meeting commenced at 9.30 am at Regional Pastoral Centre, Bangalore on August 8, 2018 with a prayer, scripture reading and a hymn.  After this Fr. Eugene Lobo SJ, PRO, invited Archbishop Peter Machado, Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas SFX, Fr. Chetan Lobo OFM, Fr Victor Vijay Lobo and Fr Sebastian Fernandes to light the lamp.C:\Users\Mebel\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\DSC00253.jpg

Welcome:  Fr Eugene Lobo SJ Regional PRO welcomed Archbishop Peter Machado, Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas SFX and all the diocesan PROs to the First PRO meeting held at KROSS, Bangalore. C:\Users\Mebel\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\DSC00256.jpg

He said the Archbishop of Bangalore who took charge recently of the Archdiocese, has been active and supportive of each of the commissions. Introducing him to the members, he spoke of his simplicity, availability and commitment.  Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas SFX has done much as PRO of CBCI and Secretary General in Delhi to CBCI. He is needed at every emergency and he deals with every situation concerning the church efficiently. He is a scholar, administrator, workaholic and linguist and is here with us to share the importance and effectiveness of the Public Relations in the church of India.  

Welcoming the diocesan PROs he said that every person has been committed to his task. In fact  most PROs in Karnataka have more than one job given to them and yet they have been able  to do justice and have given a good image of the PRO post. Out of 14 PROs of Karnataka 12 were present.  The other two had given prior information regarding their inability to attend. Fr Eugene Lobo asked each one to introduce themselves and their work.

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Archbishop’s message: Fr. Eugene Lobo invited the Archbishop Dr Peter Machado to address the gathering.   In his address the Archbishop appreciated he coming together of officials from every diocese.  He said every PRO is a professional with three activities namely Pro-ecclesia - that is for  the church; Pro -verita – for the truth; and Pro - carita - that is for charity. He added that our work is urgent and specific.  We are the conscience of the church and gave the example of the letters of the three Archbishops in the recent past and the reactions to the same. He then explained the meaning of PRO as one who establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationship between an organization and public.  Its vision is to prepare and to give active communication of truth and present the gospel values. In this context a PRO has to study, do research and express it to others. He should go beyond the religion to speak the right and support the voiceless. He should always be thinker and act carefully to express the thinking of the church.  He has to speak the truth and become the voice of the church he added. At the same time a PRO should be an all rounder being constantly in touch with reality. In conclusion he expressed his happiness over the presence of the CBCI secretary General who has done plenty on this line and all the PROs of Karnataka for the first time and wished  full success for the work of PRO in our State.

Message of Bishop  Theodore Mascarenhas SFX:- Bishop Theodore, currently Secretary General of CBCI  and PRO spoke about the practical and real situation in  India and how to handle such in the context of the Church.  We have many difficulties including an aggressive media. He said that as PROs we need to know when to speak, what to speak and how to speak.  We cannot be reactive but proactive. We have to sharp and quick and by the time we react it cannot be too late. What we communicate must be responsible and simple.  C:\Users\Mebel\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\DSC00286.jpg

As PROs we are the face of the Church he said.  We have to think of the name of the Church, diocese  and people and cannot afford to create extra damage to the situations.  We have to speak truth for the sake of the Church he added. We have problems such as the religious attacks, spoiling the name and in a subtle way dividing the community to their advantage. Yet a PRO can never bring politics into the church nor can he speak against anyone. He cannot give entry to the press and politics into the religious matters yet must be close to them. He explained how we can deal with the media and how we can use it to our advantage.  First of all it is necessary to know that media is a powerful weapon and we as a church must strengthen our websites, update it regularly and give the necessary matters much publicity. The use of social media such as photos, whatsApp, face book and twitter are now matter of common use. He said it is essential to avoid jokes and light matters in our communication. Whatever we forward to others must be verified because fake news can damage our image.

The Secretary General stressed that as PROs we have to be prepared to spread right word and win over people both Catholics and others through our messages.  We can have two accounts in our communications: one as PRO where we give the theme of the church, papal, festival and other messages. At the same time we have a private account where we give our personal opinion. We also have to be united with the ecumenical and inter religious groups.  Through them we can communicate to all but we use minimum words. He added that it is important to write and publish in newspaper columns providing good image of the church. Problems will always be there but we have to decide when to speak and what to speak regarding the issues. When the press  challenges us in complicated matters and demands response, our answers should be guarded, such as we are investigating and a commission has been formed or something similar. A PRO should never fall into a trap set by the Press. The Bishop suggested that we must have good training programmes  for the PROs in communication skills, writing, press note, press conference and such. He insisted that our constant coming together is important in our PRO setup. Bishop Theodore said that the Karnataka has perhaps the strongest social communication setup which is a stepping stone for the future growth.  C:\Users\Mebel\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\DSC00287.jpg

In the next session the 12 PROs present from the dioceses shared their functioning as PRO and expressed their vision of communication in the dioceses.   Most of the dioceses have good relationships with the press, the public and the religious groups. For most festivals and important events or calamities they come together and share with each other  ideas, views and solutions. Some dioceses have their own websites and are using the support of the youth who are well versed in the communication media. At the same time there have been facing political and social challenges in the dioceses. Our schools have been a great support in building public relations.  The Archbishop suggested that our meetings should be held often and it is necessary to have training programmes.C:\Users\Mebel\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\DSC00266.jpg

Fr Eugene Lobo, PRO KRCBC proposed the vote of thanks. The meeting ended with lunch at 1.30 pm.

 

 

 

 

Fr.Eugene Lobo,sj                                                                                                                             

PRO, KRCBC