16th Annual Bishops' Meet Opens Today
 
Hualien (15 November) - The 16th annual meeting of bishops responsible for social communication and their secretaries opened today at St. Paul's Pastoral Center in Hualien, some 200 kilometers east of Taiwan's capital, Taipei.

Ten countries in Asia are represented including Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Mongolia, Brunei, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and India. Eight Bishops are present along with nine priests and more than a dozen lay and religious from various Church organizations. The Holy See's Charge d' Affairs in Taiwan, Msgr. Paul Russell, officiated the Opening Mass, and delivered the Keynote Address.

Themed "Social Networking for Pastoral Ministry," the meeting was explained in the welcome address of Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal, SVD, chairman of the Office of Social Communication of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC-OSC), organizer of the yearly "Bishops' Meet."

Quoting the Pastoral Instruction Communio et Progressio, whose 40th anniversary is being celebrated this year, he said: "it would be difficult to suggest that Christ's command was being obeyed unless all the opportunities offered by the modern media to extend to vast numbers of people the announcement of his Good News were being used."

This week-long conference will give the opportunity for the bishops to learn about social media, and how it can be utilized for pastoral ministry, he added.

The Bishop of Hualien, Most Reverend Philip Huang, also welcomed the participants citing the message of the Holy Father for World Communications Day 2011. This conference will allow bishops and the national media directors in Asia to learn about the vast cultural transformation the world is experiencing today, the prelate said.

Bishop Huang, a member of the executive board of FABC-OSC, hoped that the meeting will deepen "our appreciation of communications" in the digital age.

Also present at the opening ceremony was Taiwan's former Ambassador to the Carribean, and now Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Eastern Taiwan.

In his welcome speech, the Honorable Jack Yutai Cheng said the government of Taiwan welcomes religious meetings like this for the work that religions generally do for society. Religions and particularly Catholicism involve in peace initiatives and works for prosperity in the world, he said.

Fr. Raymond Ambroise, executive secretary of FABC-OSC, also explained the dynamics of the week-long conference. After thanking their participation in this year's meet, Fr. Ambroise said, the aim is for the participants to look deep into social media and how the Church can harness its power for pastoral ministry.

Quoting Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi, he said, the tools of today's communication revolution yields power that the Church should not ignore.

This year's Bishops' Meet will have Sacred Heart Missionary, Fr. Stephen Cuyos, as main resource speaker. He will discuss various aspects of social media and guide the bishops through the process of social networking, visual story-telling, virtual interaction as well as other online resources available for Pastoral Ministry.

Father Franz-Josef Eilers, SVD, director of the Asian Research Center for Religion and Social Communication, will discuss "40 Years of Communio et Progressio" to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Pastoral Instruction considered the "magna carta" of Church communications.

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