The Church

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The Church and Social Communication in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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FABC-OSC
Bishops Meet
BISCOM
Roundtable Conferences
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
Home of the great religions, Asia and its
evangelization, call for dialogue as a way of
life.
The Church in Asia must be rooted in the life of
the Trinity as a Sacrement of the loving
self-communication of God aimed at community
building.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
The Church in Asia must proclaim the Good News to
people involved in communication in the region.
The Church is challenged not only to utilize the
different modern tools of social communication
but, more so, by reaching out to the people
responsible in these technologies and their
users.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
A spirituality which flows out of the
communication of the Holy Trinity must be
reflected in and matched with deep daily
experiences of the communicators in the Church
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
In the context of Asia, the challenge of
communication lies primarily in the person of the
communicator, who accepts the cross and
vulnerability of the God-man and shuns all pomp,
triumphalism and ambivalence.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
The Church should listen to the aspirations,
dreams, and anxieties of the youth and she must
be aware of their growing involvement with modern
technologies.
The Church in Asia should be involved in any way
possible in the promotion of communication in
families and group of families.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
Communication is essential for developing an
effective inter-religious dialogue at all levels
which are expressions of communicating faith.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
The Church in Asia should use the traditional
communication as well as modern electronic media
in the service of his people.
Signs, symbols and other artistic expressions
which are distinctly Asian should form part of
our Eucharistic celebrations.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
Specific Actions
Preparation of a pastoral plan for communication
Organization of media workshops
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
Specific Actions
Creation of communication office and appointment
of full time media professional as director
Organization of media workshops
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
Specific Actions
Proper networking with media practitioners
Provision of programs for pastoral support of
media professionals
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Asian Perspective
Specific Actions
Development of traditional media as alternative
means of social communications
Promotion of effective network of Christian
communicators in Asia
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Experiences, Developments, Accomplishments
Most of the Episcopal conferences in Asia have
Offices for Social Communication (OSC) headed by
a bishop
Most of the dioceses also have OSCs but many of
them are not necessarily active
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Experiences, Developments, Accomplishments
Most of the Episcopal conferences have a Pastoral
Plan on Social Communication
India has the most detailed pastoral plan. There
is a need still to put most of these plans into
action.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Experiences, Developments, Accomplishments
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA)
aside from Radio Vaticana, it is the only
Catholic continental short-wave radio station in
the world, broadcasts throughout Asia in 17
languages spoken in 21 different Asian countries.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Experiences, Developments, Accomplishments
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA)
90 of listeners are non Christians making RVA a
good instrument to reach out to and form
non-believers
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Experiences, Developments, Accomplishments
Asian Research Center for Religion and
Communication (ARC)
Priority research areas
Communication within the Church
Church, communication and society
Religion, culture and communication.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Experiences, Developments, Accomplishments
Graduate Program on Social/Pastoral
Communications at UST

• Thrust
• to widen the scope of discussion on
  social/pastoral communication
• to develop relevant and contextualized
  perspectives
• to intensify immersion in pastoral and
  evangelizing settings
• to engage the students in scientific research
  and in-depth study of pastoral and evangelizing
  communication realities in Asia

The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Experiences, Developments, Accomplishments
Initiatives in the Philippines
Formation sessions for media practitioners
AMANU and other programs
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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SUMMARY
Opportunities
FABC initiatives Bishops Meet, Biscom,
Roundtable Meetings
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA)
Asian Research Center for Religion and
Communication (ARC)
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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SUMMARY
Opportunities
Graduate Program at UST
Local Initiatives
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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SUMMARY
Challenges
Absence of doable pastoral plans
Financial constraints
Infiltration of modern technology
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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SUMMARY
The Church has to reach out to media
practitioners and to use as much as possible
these communication tools without leaving behind
the old tested way of face-to-face communication.
The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.
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Dream for Media

• to make our people feel that they are
  stakeholders
• to take away the passivity of our people and make
  them critical thinkers
• to promote unity
• to hone communicators illumined by selfless love

The Church and Social Communications in Asia
Roberto C. Mallari, D.D.