VAISCOM

12/06/2024

19/04/2024

Communication Formation for Asian Bishops returns after eleven years’ pause
Anthony G. Roman

The FABC-OSC formation program “BISCOM” aimed at Bishops and bishops’ conference personnel returns this month after a gap of eleven years.

BISCOM, or “Bishops’ Institute for Social Communication,” is a flagship program of the Office of Social Communication of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences that seeks the ongoing animation and formation of Asian Bishops.

This year’s five-day BISCOM opened at the Camilian Center in Bangkok on April 15 with the inaugural address of FABC-OSC Chairman Sebastian Cardinal Francis of Penang, Malaysia.

Citing Pope Francis’ World Peace Day Message on artificial intelligence and peace, Cardinal Francis rallied fellow Bishops on the need for formation and updating in the area of social communication.

The prelate also mentioned Pope Francis’ Message for the 58th World Communication Day this year on artificial intelligence and the wisdom of the heart towards fully human communication.

He said, “We are fully human and Christian simultaneously. But until we experience this, our hearts will remain restless, in the words of St. Augustine of Hippo.”

To be “fully present” online and offline is important. This is the central teaching of Prefect Paolo Rufini of the Dicastery for Communication in Rome, he said.

In the book “Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media,” Dr. Rufini listed ways the Church could move “towards full presence.” “We should not settle for anything less than that,” the prelate added.

“In these days,” he told the Bishops, “to listen to the invited experts but to one another as well.” “The mandate is to evangelize using traditional and contemporary means of communication,” and the “underlying reason behind this,” said the Cardinal, “is the Pentecost experience.”

“According to Pope Francis, the descent of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room and the proclamation of the apostles outside in different languages shows the move towards inculturation and evangelization,” the Cardinal said.

“This must happen again,” he said in the dioceses and parishes, not least at the 2025 World Youth Day in Korea.

“Let us engage with one another and share our stories and resources without fear,” Cardinal Francis concluded.

BISCOM’s hiatus is caused by changes in the FABC-OSC leadership structure, the COVID-19 pandemic, and its aftermath.

From the first BISCOM on “Church and Public Relations” in 1996, different themes were covered, including BISCOMs that had hands-on training sessions on Internet and computing skills in 1999 and 2007.

In 2001, FABC-OSC collaborated with the FABC-Office of Education and Student Chaplaincy on BISCOM III in communication formation in priestly ministry and mission.

In 2004, FABC-OSC organized a BISCOM on “Interreligious Dialogue as Communication” with the FABC-Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue.

A 10-day public relations training was held in Manila in 1999, and in 2002, BISCOM IV on the communication of young people was co-organized with the FABC-Office of Laity – Youth Desk.

In 2013, BISCOM VIII tackled the theme “Social Media: Challenges and Opportunities for the Church in Asia.”

With BISCOM, FABC’s animation and training programs for Bishops include BILA (Bishops’ Institute for Lay Apostolate), BIMA (Bishops’ Institute for Missionary Apostolate), BISA (Bishops’ Institute for Social Action), and BIRA (Bishops’ Institute for Interreligious Affairs.

The nine specialized offices of the Federation each handle a "Bishops' Institute" related to their specific ministry.

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17/04/2024

Communicate with the heart, Vatican Prefect told Bishops
Anthony G. Roman

In a technology-driven world, the Church must communicate with the heart even through communication media.

With the capacity for love and communion, humans should direct technologies, AI or artificial intelligence included. Love, after all, is the basis of happiness and not the algorithm which drives technology.

This highlights Paolo Rufini’s address to Bishops present at the FABC-OSC-led “Bishops’ Institute for Social Communication” or BISCOM.

The Prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication delivered his talk via Zoom from Rome. He said “Evangelization is not dependent on media; the “secret of communication is not technique but love.”

We need lessons from Asia about “communion” which thrives on communication, Rufini said. Communication builds on communion, and communion flourishes because of communication, he added.

He told the Bishops to consider returning to the roots of communication which in Latin is “mun” or togetherness and “munus” or gift.

Like Christ’s communication, “our communication must be marked by self-giving and not self-satisfaction prevalent in business and marketing,” the Prefect said.

Long before the advent of social media networks, the “Church is a network” so in planning, we must form “digital missionaries.” The world of the “digital,” however, is not distinct from the physical world, Rufini said.

Today, “everything is digital.” The digital is like a culture which the Gospel of Christ should permeate, he said. The digital culture is always changing and as Church, “we must evangelize it with love, communion, and social justice.”

We are all “digital missionaries, called to be disciples in the environment where are --- parish, school, and even social media,” Rufini stressed.

The Prefect also said that in evangelization, we are not selling a product. Rather, we are like the apostle John, sharing “what we have seen and heard” so that people “may have fellowship with us” (1 Jn 1:3).

Rufini recalls Pope now Saint John Paul II saying that the history of Church communication “is like a journey from mutual misunderstanding to (the) Pentecost” event, which is unitive, never divisive. The “Spirit of Pentecost always unites, and never divides,” Rufini said.

He also recalls the late Pope saying that “a simple act of love” in communication resonates and is “far more important than a show of ostentation.”

The pandemic has proven that people are never satisfied communicating digitally. As Church, we must be at the fore creating “happy and safe places of communion” for all sectors, not just the youth.

BISCOM is a flagship program of FABC-OSC, or the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences – Office of Social Communication.

It aims to contribute to the ongoing formation of Bishops and bishops’ conference personnel in the area of social communication. This year’s five-day BISCOM tackles the theme of communication and synodality.

The Camilian Center in Lat Krabang, Bangkok hosts the April 15-20 event.

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Attached: File photos from BM 2023

27/02/2024

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18/01/2024

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Date: February 3, 2024
Time: 5:30 PM Taipei (India 3:00 PM)
https://www.fabc-osc.org/2024/01/webinar-on-synod/

26/11/2023

“Bishops’ Meet” Closing Eucharist highlights need for communicating “the synodal way”

Manila, 25 November --- The 28th FABC-OSC Bishops’ Meet in Bangkok closed with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by FABC President Charles Cardinal Bo of Yangon Diocese on November 24.

Concelebrants were Fr. William Larousse, the assistant secretary general of the FABC, and Fr. Peter Choy from Hong Kong Diocese.

In his homily, Cardinal Bo explained the relationship between communication and living the Holy Father’s call for a synodal Church.

He said, “The synodal process is Holy Spirit-inspired, an irreversible process, and an axial missionary moment for Asia.”

Like the Samaritan woman, “who rushed back to the village proclaiming the Good News with great vigor,” the “Asian Church must communicate the memorable encounter with Jesus journeying with us.”

The digital world has “shrunk the missionary field” offering a great opportunity to tell Christ’s Gospel, he continued.

It is then always “crucial” to live as Christ’s witnesses in the contemporary culture.” But it is necessary “to first know the culture,” the Cardinal cautioned.

“Digital missionaries” must carry out the mission in the digital environment, while helping “the rest of the community, including pastors,” understand its dynamics.

Communication must provide “safe spaces for sharing,” but it must also be “spiritually life-giving” and one that promotes “care as well as concern for one another and the common good,” the prelate continued.

Echoing Pope Francis, Cardinal Bo reminded the Bishops’ Meet participants “to be always present.” “People like the youth may not come to Church, but the Church needs to be present where they are,” the cardinal said.

Our communicating mission must include cleansing the Holy Spirit’s temple, which is the human person, restoring his/her dignity, evangelizing the digital space, healing the wounded world, building communion, and leading people to God.”

The “new energy unleashed by emerging technologies” must be “the Church’s ally in building God’s Kingdom of peace, justice, human dignity, and fellowship,” Cardinal Bo concluded.

The “springboard” for communicating the synodal way in Asia is the Bishops’ Meet-organizer, FABC-OSC, which in 1996 had envisioned the yearly event to be a forum for networking, sharing, and support for bishops in charge of communications and their secretaries.

This year’s Bishops’ Meet saw 30 participants from FABC member conferences Brunei-Malaysia-Singapore, Cambodia-Laos, India, Indonesia, Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and associate member Hong Kong.

26/11/2023

The human person will remain the best communicator, bishops’ meeting underlines

Manila, 25 November --- Transformed by communion with God and neighbor, the human person will remain the best communicator amid today’s challenges.

This is the main point of the “Final Statement” of the 28th annual FABC-OSC Bishops’ Meet held in Bangkok on 20-24 November 2023.

Organized by the Office of Social Communication of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC-OSC), the “Bishops’ Meet” is a closed meeting of bishops in charge of communication and their secretaries.

The 30 participants reflected on the theme “Communication in the Church in Asia Today.”

Present were the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Paolo Ruffini, the head of the Dicastery’s Theological and Pastoral Department, Natasa Govekar, the President of FABC, Charles Cardinal Bo of Yangon Archdiocese, and the Archbishop of Bangkok, Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak.

In the document, they said that “every person is a communicator because the Creator-God communicates first.” He is the “Communicator Par Excellence,” and “Perfect Communicator.”

The “need of our time,” they said, is “communication that fosters communion and the “giving of self in love.”

The “important role of the human person in the promotion of communication in its truest sense, as well as effective use of media,” was stressed.

“Communication technologies can never replace The human capacity for love, compassion, empathy, justice, and kindness.” The human person needs the same “values to grow in his/her vocation.”

As witnesses of Christ, Christian communicators must be in “solidarity with the poor and disadvantaged, giving ‘voice to the voiceless’ and ‘life to the lifeless,’ they continued.

Responding to Pope Francis’ call to synodality, the Asian Church must “build authentic human relationships that foster a culture of respect, dialogue, and friendship.”

Telling the story of Jesus and other faith stories in multi-cultural and multi-religious contexts “must acknowledge the rich and varied cultural traditions of Asia,” the participants also said.

In Asia, evangelization means sharing “life” and the “beauty of encountering the Risen Lord who is present in our midst,” they added.

Further, they recommend the formation of “missionary disciples” embracing the “synodal way” of “journeying together in friendship, communion, and participation in mission.”

World Communication Day celebrations must “provide spaces for fostering spirituality, formation in communication, sharing of resources, networking,” and mutual support.

Initiatives of the Dicastery for Communication’s “Towards Full Presence” (www.comunicazione.va) and FABC-OSC’s VAISCOM, Veritas Asia Institute of Social Communication” (www.vaiscom.org) must be supported.

The Asian Church must “understand the implications of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies on the communication ministry of the Church.”

Spaces for real-life encounters must be provided “through liturgies, forums, and other celebrations, acknowledging that true Christian communication is rooted in the Gospel values of seeing, listening, and speaking with the heart, and person-to-person encounter,” the participants said.

The 30 participants of this year’s “Bishops’ Meet” were from FABC member conferences Brunei-Malaysia-Singapore, Cambodia-Laos, India, Indonesia, Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and associate member Hong Kong.

23/11/2023