Catholic Church in Nigeria set for 2^nd edition of Communications Week Celebration

By Fidelia Angbalaga

The National Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, has confirmed the readiness of his office to host the second edition of the Communications Week (ComWEEK) celebration in Nigeria.

While addressing members of the Nigerian Institute of Social Media Analyst (NISMA) who paid him a courtesy visit in his office on Wednesday 3 May, 2023, Fr. Umoh said that “all is set by God’s grace for the event; designs of banner, poster, and the logo have been forwarded to all Diocesan Directors of Social Communications and their counterparts, the Religious Directors, for customisation. Also made available to the Directors is the daily guide manual which contains the programme, message and teaching for each of the 8 days.

The ComWEEK programme is scheduled to start on Sunday 14 May and end on Sunday 21 May, 2023, which is the Sunday of the World Communication Day (WCD). It is expected to hold in all the 4,365 parishes of the 58 dioceses in Nigeria throughout the period.

Fr.  Umoh also further informed the NISMA officials of the particular interest in the programme shown by the Vatican Dicastery for Communications, saying that “they have expressed interest and concern and have noted that the initiative deserves wider consideration.”

It will be recalled that the maiden edition of ComWEEK, celebrated last year, 2022, is an initiative of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), which is targeted towards media literacy for discipleship. It is an expansion of the one-day WCD, which was established since 1967 by Pope Paul VI. This is what the Nigerian Bishops developed into a one-week programme, conscious of the important and enormous challenges of media and communications to the church and modern society, particularly in the present digital age.