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The Cathoic Bishops of the Diocese of Oyo and Yola, Emmanuel Badejo and Damin Mamza, have challenged journalists and media to promote family cohesion and harmony through their reportage, to enable the family continue to provide the essential service for a better society and world.
The two clerics spoke separately at the grand finale of the 57th World Day of Social Communications with the theme ‘Speaking With The Heart, The Truth In Love (Eph. 4:15)’.
In his homily, the Bishop of Oyo Diocese said the family in Africa is the nursery of all good virtues: truthfulness, charity, courage, compassion, and selflessness.
The family, according to him, is also the formation workshop for our hearts and the first cradle of synodality.
This, he added, made the Oyo Diocese to involve many families and schools in the celebration of this week on the importance and role of the family and school in engendering truthful and charitable communication.
“No generation is lost if it uses the pains of the present to secure its future. Despite numerous challenges of the present, we call on families to do more to create the “synodal” atmosphere where people, especially the children and youth, are groomed to listen to others more and to see through the eyes of others.
“It is within the family we begin to learn the language with which to communicate the truth in a non-threatening, charitable and peaceful way and thus help to develop mutual trust and harmony in the larger society,” he said.
According to Badejo, speaking the truth in love would often come at a cost because we must do so to a world of appearances, disinformation, distortions, fake news and even falsehood.
“It might bring rejection, insults and even persecution but we must be reminded that this is all foreseen. Jesus said: “If the world hates you, you must realise that it hated me before you” (Jn 15:18).
“If speaking the truth in love is so exacting, it is natural to be afraid and anxious at times when the truth portends suffering. We are all familiar with the phrase ‘truth is bitter’ but we all know as well that truth is a liberating force.
“Therefore, we need help. We cannot achieve the delicate balance of speaking the truth and fostering peace, reconciliation, and unity by ourselves. Our Christian duties to speak the truth from the heart will be enhanced if we make the Holy Spirit our constant ally.”
He noted that the country suffered setbacks and disunity due to lack of people speaking the truth.
“If we sow the truth from the hearts and charity right from our families, schools, we may save our country from danger.
“May the Lord also touch the hearts of those in authority so that they will listen to the truth by the communicators.
“We should help one another to speak the truth in love and from the heart, I pray that this message which is being preached all over the Catholic Church today will make the world a better place,” he said.
Similarly, Bishop Mamza charged media practitioners to abide by professional conduct and shun reportage that may course disharmony in the society.
Mamza, Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Adamawa chapter, who spoke at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church Damilu, Yola, said it was good for media practitioners to communicate the truth and real situation on ground.
He thanked and appreciated the media for their contribution of spreading the gospel in the state and the world in general.
He advised Christian communities to take advantage of the social media and not to abuse it for whatever reason.
According to him, it is easier to abuse social media than conventional media.
“The media should be used responsibly, either the social or conventional media should be used with sense of responsibility.
“If you forward messages anyhow, some times it can bring violence within the community. So, people should use the media responsibly.
“Let it be used to create harmony, good relationship, love within the community and reconciliation among our people. It should not be used negatively, it should be used positively since it is something that is meant for good.”
The Bishop further advised people to desist from forwarding everything on social media as there are some messages that need to be verified before sharing.
“Please try to understand the content of the message, who sent it, for what purpose and what effect the message can have on the community before you can forward it. And if the message has no effect, please desist from forwarding such messages,” he said.
Mamza also urged people to always speak with truth from their hearts to promote peaceful coexistence and harmony.
