Four Indians at Bishops’ Seminar for Communications

(March 12, 2009) Four Indians are participating in a Seminar for Bishops with Responsibility for Social Communications at Episcopal Conferences being held at the Vatican, March 9-13. The five-day seminar entitled ‘New Perspectives on Church Communications: Changes in the technologies and culture of communications: A theological and pastoral reflection’ is sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (PCCS). About 90 bishops from 82 countries are participating.“It is the third conference that PCCS is organising. This is the first time that bishop delegates of the Episcopal conferences are called together for a communications seminar,” says PCCS president Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli. “This is also the first time that we invited doctoral students from the Pontifical Universities’ Communications Faculties for a seminar with bishops,” adds the archbishop welcoming some 15 students from Salesian, Santa Croce, Gregorian and other universities. The Indians at the seminar included Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India co-chairman for Social Communications Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal, Father Sebastian (Kanjirappilly) and Salesian Fathers Jesudoss Perianayagam and C.M. Paul. Other bishops from South Asia included Bishop Gervas Rozario of Bangladesh and Bishop Kingsley Swampillai of Sri Lanka. A team of experts from the various communications faculties from Italy is lined up to address the bishops on a variety of topics covering new media; new culture of communications.