India’s Hindi region bishops plan developing communication ministry

(September 12, 2011) Twenty eight Bishops of India’s Hindi region and leaders of social communication and representatives of other ministries participated in a two-day meeting last week in Allahabad to explore developing the communication ministry in the language. The August 8 -9 meeting at Sadhna Sadan, discussed issues such as Hindi literature, Bible, Catechesis, Liturgy, Communication, Inter Religious and Public Relations. Inputs and presentations on various media ministries in the region such as Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) and Vatican Radio services in Hindi were followed by discussions on strategies to improve these ministries. Participants stressed the importance of strengthening the Church’s presence and involvement in the Hindi press and constituted a committee to explore the possibility of starting a Hindi periodical. The meeting also explored the prospects of Community Radio as an effective means to serve the people, particularly in rural areas. Reports of plans and activities of the national centre for proclamation Pachmari, Madhya Pradesh, and the Regional Bible Institute in Bareilly were also presented in the meeting.