BY PHILIP NWOSU
Catholic Bishops in Africa under the auspice of the Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS), have called on employers of media professionals to ensure proper remuneration of journalists as a means towards curbing fake news and misinformation, as well foster development in the continent.
Presidents of CEPACS and the Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Most Reverend Emmanuel Badejo emphasized this at the weekend while addressing journalists ahead of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of CEPACS in Lagos.
Most Reverend Badejo spoke at the Holy Cross Catholic Cathedral in Lagos decrying the negative influence of fake news and misinformation on African development, but explained that the menace would be tackled if journalists are well remunerated and empowered with skills to function in accordance with the ethics of their profession.
Bishop Badejo hoped that with better pay and capacity building, the real professionals in the media industry would be motivated to be on top of their game, while purveyors of fake news, especially on social media platforms, would lose relevance.
The CEPACS president stated that the Catholic Church had remained positive about the media as a ” gift of God” towards ensuring social justice and spreading of the gospel.
Badejo explained that the Golden Jubilee celebration is an opportunity for the synod to appraise milestones recorded in promoting communication excellence across Africa and Madagascar.
According to him, “The press conference is about the Golden Jubilee Celebration and assembly of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS). It is being hosted on behalf of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN, by the Archbishop of Lagos, Most Reverend Alfred Adewale Martins to whom we are very grateful.
“The CEPACS celebration assembly will begin with a Holy Mass at the Holy Cross Catholic Cathedral, Lagos at 10:30 am on Sunday, November 19 and continue at the Lumen Christi Television Premises,Lekki Lagos on Monday 20th November,2023 by 8:30am.
“CEPACS is the French acronym which in English,translates to : The Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications. It was established by the Bishops of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) at Ibadan, Nigeria in 1973.
“Inspired by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (PCSC) of the Vatican, now known as the Dicastery for Communication, CEPACS was established to help the bishops of Africa implement the Pastoral Instruction on the means of Social Communications which was ordered before then by the Second Vatican Council. The Pastoral Instruction, entitled: Communio et Progressio (meaning unity and advancement) proclaimed the means of Social Communication as gifts of God”.
“It laid down various guidelines on how to put these means to the best use for the spread of the gospel, how to train professionals and consumers who use them, how to understand their function in society,how to understand the rights and duties of the people of God towards them among other things”, Badejo explained.
“The mandate of CEPACS was to engage in all matters concerning the Catholic Church’s activities in the realm of media in Africa and Madagascar-press ,radio, television, video, traditional, group media, new forms of media,etc. Thus, CEPACS animates , encourages, and coordinates Church media activities at all levels, through its national ,regional and continental organs. CEPACS also promotes the Christian dimension in the use of all media in society and in evangelisation, which includes the Promotion of the whole person and tries to establish good relationships with media professionals, practitioners and organizations within and outside of Africa.
“CEPACS functions as a committee of Bishops who oversee the communication offices of the 8 regions into which the Church in Africa is configured under SECAM. The committee also works through the communication offices of those regions and through consultation with Catholic media professionals and institutions”.
” The CEPACS assembly is an opportunity for evaluation and stock-taking in the work of CEPACS over these fifty years. It will hopefully reinvigorate CEPACS,promote new communications strategies for evangelisation and update Church structures and policies for the future. It will also align the work of CEPACS with the new synodal process which calls for a Church that listens to all it’s members and components and gives everybody, especially those at the margins an opportunity to express themselves and participate more in the life of church. In Synodality, everybody is carried along and no one is deliberately left behind in the scheme of things. Such a noble vision obviously has a lot to offer modern society as well. Communication is an indispensable part of Synodality and so , the vision for founding CEPACS, needs to be optimized and brought into the present and future digital age”.
He submitted that in its 50 years of existence, CEPACS had played an immense role in ensuring media excellence through training of professionals, while establishing media houses including the Lumen Christi Catholic Television in Lekki, Lagos.
The Coordinator and liaison Officer, Continental Planning Committee, Very Reverend Father, Andrew kaufa Ulemu, remarked that among numerous achievements of the synod was helping to build pastoral solidarity in the church of Africa.
On holding the Golden Jubilee celebration in Nigeria, Father Ulemu said it was the agreement of members to return to the cradle to celebrate with the local church in Nigeria.
Welcoming delegates to Nigeria, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, represented by Director of Social communications, in the archdiocese, Very Reverend Father Anthony Godonu, promised to do everything within his power to make the ceremony a huge success.
The Golden Jubilee Celebration is expected to draw eminent personalities across Africa and Madagascar including the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu; Archbishop Adewale Martins; President Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Most Rev Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
CEPACS tries to establish good relationship with media professionals, practitioners and organizations within and outside of Africa, both Christian and secular ones