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INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING This was the fourth and final meeting of the commission for this six year mandate. It was an opportunity to review the progress of the Order’s communications programs in line with the six year plan and to make specific recommendations to the General Chapter to strengthen the program. Because the meeting was in the Philippines, Rey Caigoy and Arnuld Alindayu were able to plan visits to various communications centers of the Catholic Church in Manila. I) Evaluation of the Order’s Communications Program In 2002, a “Audit of the Communications Program” was sent to each Province, Commissary, General Delegation, and monastery in the Order. It asked for information about the use of the Internet, publications, communication in the formation program, networking with the media, communication resources available in the area, and local needs assessment. In November 2006, this same survey was sent out to those Provinces, Commissariats, General Delegations and monasteries that participated in the 2002 survey. Everyone else received an invite to participate and a couple did. One page was added to the original survey which focused on the networking between the Order and the Provinces/Monasteries. CITOC received 14 responses from Provinces/Commissariats/Delegations to the 2002 survey. Twelve monasteries and one federation of nuns responded. The 2006 survey saw 11 responses from Provinces/Commissariats/Delegations, seven of which had also responded in 2002. Eighteen monasteries responded in 2006, eight of which had responded in 2002. We noted that some did not understand the questions because of follow-up answers. We also noted that some are not aware of what their communications programs their provinces have or do. Despite the smaller than expected response and the often confusing answers, we were able to glean enough information from the surveys and from our own knowledge of the Provinces and monasteries to make some conclusions. A) Increase in the Use of the Internet Most reported some use of the internet, especially email, in 2006. This was not the case in 2002, especially among the monasteries, many of which did not yet have email. Some additional web pages have been created although a number report that their website is “under construction” or “being updated.” Some have been in this state for awhile. Some others have developed very attractive, informative sites since 2002. We note that the development of the websites is still very much independent of any oversight and generally a one person operation. This has resulted in shallow and sometimes incorrect information being posted. The survey indicates that “linking” between websites (thereby creating a real ‘web’ of the resources) is minimal, with multiple sites posting the same information. There is surprisingly little “updating” of websites. A unique feature of the net is that information can be changed quickly at little cost in time or money. Carmelite websites tend to be created and left for months or even years without any change. In general each Province and monastery has been developing their own individual site with very little sharing of resources. An exception would be Germany where the two provinces collaborate on one site. We also note that with few exceptions, the websites lack an inter-activity at all. This kind of website is particularly attractive to younger people. We have seen some creative use of video in a couple of the websites. Our conclusion from the surveys and other data is that the Order in general has missed out of using a very powerful new technology effectively. We are using the Internet as if it is merely an electronic print media. The provinces and monasteries in general have never adjusted to “thinking” Internet. B) Publications Most provinces have some form of publications for internal news as do some of the monasteries. Many also have newsletters, bulletins or newsmagazines for their “friends and supporters” or for the general public. A couple of new publications have been started. The availability of publishing programs on the computer and high quality printers at a relatively low cost has resulted in some attractive publication. Other forms of publications—CDs, films, audio-visual materials, etc—are generally not done in the Order. Audio-visual would allow us to tell stories in symbols, music and pictures. However the technology is not generally user-friendly. Exceptions would be a couple of monasteries and provinces who have produced some excellent products since 2002—vocation pieces, anniversary celebrations, etc. While this is not generally been a part of the Order’s communications program, we need to remember that the pastoral environment is changing, especially where youth are involved. They are dominated by television, radio, Internet, and IPod. What are we doing to enter into this new environment?. Creation of music and art, theater, plays, etc are not part of the current communications programs. However, some excellent musical CDs and tapes have been developed in Peru, Carpineto Romano, and Zimbabwe. Films are being created in the Philippines and the USA. These initiatives need to be encouraged in other places. C) Communication and the Formation Program With few exceptions, there was not much inclusion of communications in the provinces’ formation programs indicated on the surveys. Many left the page out when returning their responses. As one province wrote “Everything still has to be worked out.” It was also asked how the Constitutional requirement of a second language was being done in formation. A very few provide formal classes during formation. Others indicated that they provide the opportunity for learning but were not specific on when and how. The item of the six year plan regarding communications being stressed in formation was sent to the International Formation Commission for carry through. D) Networking the Carmelite Community with the Media Very few of the Provinces make an effort to work with the public media. There is even less effort among the monasteries. Four provinces have a public relations director to work with the public media. However, only two provinces have regular contact with the media. Two provinces have people involved in the public media—radio and/or television-- on a regular basis. The General Curia attempted to provide news releases to the religious media in Rome for major meetings we held. A few releases were picked up and various members of the Curia and CISA have been asked to be interviewed at Vatican Radio. Following the death of Pope John Paul II, the Praeses of the Institutum served as resources for the international media and were interviewed frequently. E) Communications Resources Available in Your Area Several provinces are located in areas were advanced degrees can be obtained in communications. However, very few Carmelites have availed themselves of the opportunity. A surprising number of the provinces are in areas where there is access to media such as print, audio-visual, visual, and Internet. However in general we stick to the print media and Internet. There is very little use of audio-visual or visual to either evangelize or communicate internally. F) Networking Between the Order and the Provinces/Monasteries This section was not part of the original questionnaire in 2002 so we are limited to a “state of the current situation.” As noted above there has been an significant increase in websites within the Order. During the past five years, a number of new portals have been created to facilitate the location of Carmelite information online. However, after repeated requests to the webmasters and provinces, many local websites still do not link up to these portals. Some articles in CITOC do get re-published in provincial bulletins. Likewise far more local information is published in CITOC now than previously. Some of those provinces which do not speak the “official” languages of the Order will translate documents, official letters, etc. into the local language, thereby facilitating their members knowledge of the Order. There is a great deal of sharing of print media between provinces which provides another possibility for members to understand the wider Order. G) Inter-personal Communication This topic was not covered in either survey but was highlighted in many of the canonical visitations conducted in the past several years. In general, most members find the house meetings either non-existent or not matching the needs of the community. Most stress the need for non-business type of meetings but these apparently rarely happen outside formation communities. With all the technology available and being used in many parts of the Order, the members still place a high value on the face to face encounters. Personal encounters with the leadership, like that provided by the canonical visitations, received almost universal praise. The content of the meetings has to be a communication of God, otherwise we are creating technocrats. Based on the surveys and our discussions, we have a series of Proposals for the 2007 General Chapter. They are listed as addenda at the end of this report.
This was the first time the Commission met outside of Rome so we took the opportunity to learn more about the various church related programs of communications in the Philippines. A) Titus Brandsma Center – Media Program Three members of the TBC- Media Program gave a detailed explanation of their program (research, media education, film dialogue, the Titus Brandsma Award – Philippines, and networking). We were joined by three other members who create films. It was explained that this was an area not covered by already existing media programs so this would be a part of the Carmelites’ ministry to the country. The approaches to film used by the Media Program have been well received in secondary schools, parish groups, academics, etc, throughout the country. Some 34,000 people have participated in the media program in the four years of its existence. The largest single gathering numbered around 800. The Center also maintains a library of films on a variety of topics which can be borrowed by groups. The Media Program offers is an “open space” for people to encounter God. Two groups of journalists and 1 group of business people are involved in lectio divina on a regular basis. B) Communication Forum for Asia (CFA) We were hosted at CFA by a very enthusiastic young MSC priest who works in both radio and television. The CFA uses innovative learning processes involving media technology and other forms of communication to assist the development of people. The power of communication is used to promote Christian values and empower people in need towards a social transformation. Besides developing teaching aides for traditional church topics, they group also focuses on family development (works with fathers of families to take a more responsible and loving role in rearing their children, for example), the Peace Camp (a peace festival for Christian and Muslim youth), media training for clergy and pastoral workers (including web design, Powerpoint, video production, flash animation, and community radio). They are also developing Gospel Komiks, a television version of the popular publication for elementary and high school students. We were treated to a lengthy lesson on the Linux open source operation system for computers which now provides freeware which mirrors many of the expensive Microsoft programs. C) Society of St. Paul Pastoral Center The Pauline Priests are well known for their bookstores. This day we were taken behind the scenes to learn more about the process and the various products offered by the Paulini. During our meeting with the General Director and the head of the audio-visual department, the Provincial joined us. Of course, the whole focus of the province is on “the apostolate”—including students being required to give a couple of hours a day as proof-readers, translators, etc. We finished up in the local bookshop of the Order. D) Augustinian Recollects Communications The archivist we were supposed to see was called away on business so the Provincial hosted us. The Recollects in Asia have undertaken a project to copy their archives in Spain and Rome so that the young members can study their history and spirituality. The Provincial explained that this is their way of insuring that the Province does not lose touch with the founder’s and the Congregation’s aspirations. As a side note, there is some early documents of the Brown Scapular’s arrival in the Philippines centuries before any Carmelites would arrive. That original scapular and documents related to the founding of the Lay Carmelites in the Philippines are preserved in the Recollects’ archive. E) Radio Veritas Asia Here we were hosted by Msgr Tai, a Vietnamese priest who is the program director for Radio Veritas, a project of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. The organization provides daily broadcasts in 16 different languages to all of Asia. Over lunch we had a lengthy discussion of the project and I was presented with a replica of the station’s radio tower as a recognition and appreciation for the Order’s involvement in the same goals. We received a tour of the facilities, including a museum showing various items from people speaking each of the languages broadcast by the radio. Most interesting was a series of books from Vietnam which contained transcripts of early broadcasts and a fake German name listed as the author to fool the communists who sought to stop the broadcast from reaching the people. Although neither the Order nor the Philippine General Commissariat are involved in some of these media (nor will it in the near future), it was good for the members of the Commissariat to network and to have the opportunity to share ideas. It was also clear that some of the ideas and technologies we saw could be transferred to the Order’s current communications program. Addendum (Proposals for the 2007 General Chapter) |
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