The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Social Communication (CBCP-ECSC) holds its second National Media Convention from August 22 to 24, 2016 at the Angel’s Hills Retreat and Formation Center in Tagaytay City.
During the first day of the convention, the Bishop of Pasig, Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara, DD, chairman of CBCP-ECSC stressed three points which he believes are necessary for the Catholic Church to have as it seems to undergo a crisis of relevance in her mission of evangelization today.
“Are we still relevant as a Church? And if we think and feel we are not, how can we be relevant to face the challenges confronting us? To answer this, let me respond with three words: Identity, Possibility and Creativity,” Bishop Vergara said.
He further explained these three points by saying that people need to recognize that our identity is born out of God’s mercy. Further, we need to explore new possibilities that can make our work grow and flourish and we need creativity to evangelize the young people immersed in an electronic, digital milieu.
“…if we recognize our identity borne out of the mercy and compassion of God, then our way of being social communicators would always be done not out cynicism but sensitivity, not out of rash judgment but understanding and not out of hate but love…” Bishop Vergara said.
He also added that our very existence is a possibility that has become a reality, “Even the impossible is a possibility… Creativity in evangelization is the call of the times.”
Bishop Vergara is hopeful that this convention will help the members of Catholic media to seriously recognize their identity as social communicators mercifully loved by God, to explore numerous possibilities that can develop their multi-media ministry, and animate them to creatively evangelize people in this E-generation.
With the aim of fostering collaboration among the Catholic Media in the Philippines, the three-day conference runs until August 24 and features Mr. Sean Patrick Lovette of the Vatican Radio who will talk about the “Vatican Perspectives in organizing the Philippine Media Ministry”. Apart from the plenary sessions, there will also be three tracks – print, broadcast and social media, as well as workshops to be conducted per region.
Mass Presiders are Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig for the first day; Bishop Edwin dela Peña of the Apostolic Vicariate of Marawi on the second day and Bishop Rey Evangelista of Imus for the third day.
