THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNTURNED DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION (DEPSOCOM) COIN
Introduction
Beloved in Christ, I am very sure our nurses, medical officers, and paramedics would pardon me for this! A story is told of two young nurses who were not on talking terms for a reason known only to them. One came for a night shift and, as usual, prepared her handover notes and handed them over to the in charge without briefing her and without letting her know that she had already administered the morning injection to the patient before leaving, including the prescribed dosage.
The colleague nurse reported for work and, because of the misunderstanding between them—which led her not to prepare comprehensive handing-over notes and not to inform her colleague that she had administered the morning injection before leaving—the nurse on the morning shift, reading from the notes that the patient needed to be administered an injection in the morning, immediately repeated the injection, and suddenly the patient passed away.
The relatives who saw the night nurse administer the morning injection reported the morning shift nurse as the cause of the death. It was during the enquiry and interrogation that it was found out that if the two nurses had been on good terms and had communicated clearly, they could have saved the life of the patient.
That is what happens when there is no consistent communication and when communication lacks clarity and feedback.
In fact, this scenario does not apply only to the health sector but to every field, of which our pastoral field is not an exception. Hence, the need to see communication as a pivotal key in pastoral ministry, for it is what conveys the message across and brings back feedback to help in the implementation of policies and pastoral projects. Therefore, there is a need to adhere to clarity and avoid ambiguity or vagueness in delivery as a Pastoral Agent.
- Since the Church does her best, there is the need to continue exploring other areas of communication, especially to the deaf and dumb, using sign language and making our stairways accessible to the physically challenged, because the Persons with Disability Act in Ghana obliges every institution or organization to make provision for that, since they have equal rights just like others and enjoy full rights and responsibilities when baptised as Catholics in full communion with the Church (Canon 204; Canon 96).
I would highly and humbly recommend that our Bishops and Superiors send some Priests, Religious, and laity to train in sign language and Braille; appoint a Diocesan Chaplain for parishioners with special needs; establish an Office for Catechesis for People with Special Needs at the Diocesan Catechetical Centre; and task an expert to interpret in sign language during National, Provincial, and Diocesan programmes and on our National Catholic TV programmes.
How I wish that, where pastorally necessary, we had sign language interpreters in our Cathedrals for the main Mass to encourage such parishioners.
- The other area would be the proper documentation and safekeeping of all historical records of important events and recording the homilies of the various Diocesan Bishops for proper electronic preservation.
This becomes a rich resource to support research work at the Chancery and the Secretariat, as well as National, Diocesan, and Parish Museums.
- The third aspect is the organisation of Communication Workshops for new and experienced Pastors and Church leaders on the importance of communication in Church leadership and management, including its various dynamics and challenges.
Additionally, assisting Priests with effective communication skills for efficient and practical homily delivery to avoid boredom, and promoting conciseness and clarity in preaching, catechetical instructions, and directives in the Parish, especially in matters concerning Parish administration.
- The fourth aspect is how the Communication Office could market Diocesan Schools, Guest Houses, agro-based industries, Diocesan and Parish Shops and Malls, Diocesan Museums, and airline ticketing firms for publicity and marketing to generate income for the Church.
I think that the DEPSOCOM Office could use pictures from the pastoral visits of the Bishops to develop Diocesan calendars for sale, to inform people about pastoral activities in the Diocese, and also raise funds to support the Office.
- The fifth aspect is the area of Art and Creative Design in pastoral ministry. Some scholars teach that children and even youth learn effectively through Creative Arts. Therefore, it would be ideal for Communication experts to design Christian puzzles, riddles, picture-making activities, and other artworks to teach our Catholic doctrines through National and Diocesan graphics, and to design toy programmes for children in Sunday Schools to reinforce Sunday liturgy and Catechesis.
THE NOVELTY OF DEPSOCOM
I personally think that in Dioceses where there is a Catholic Professional Guild, the leadership should assist the Diocesan Bishop in bringing together Catholic journalists in the Parish and Diocese to serve as a solid foundation and provide technical advice to the DEPSOCOM Office, to improve the quality of gadgets, media coverage, lighting systems, media interviews, and to produce quality news reports and other programmes.
Secondly, as a Church, knowing very well that education is an extension of the Church’s work of evangelisation, there is a need to encourage reading habits and a profound knowledge of Church doctrines and Scripture among Catholic students at all levels.
How can we do that?
The Office could start a Catholic Junior Standard or Newsletter to encourage reading and writing of articles, and also organise a termly DEPSOCOM Quiz among Catholic Schools to make learning more lively and create fertile grounds for Catechesis.
Thirdly, as I express gratitude to our Bishops and the various Catholic graphics, magazines, and journals especially The Catholic Standard, The Good Shepherd, The Catholic Voice, and The Catholic Messenger let us support them with more funds to improve their publications and even go digital, so that Catholics in the diaspora can have access to our news and feel encouraged to support projects back home.
THE DEPSOCOM AND DIOCESAN AND PARISH WEBSITE
WHAT HAPPENED
One time, one of our Ghanaian Priests who was studying in Italy had the opportunity to go on vacation to a nearby country in Europe. In his interaction with the Vicar General of the visiting Diocese, he expressed interest in establishing a partnership with his Diocese in order to obtain Priests from his Diocese in Ghana.
This conversation prompted the Vicar General to find out how many Priests the Diocese in Ghana had, so he could formally make the request. To be certain about the availability of Priests and ascertain the possibility of receiving a positive response from the Bishop in Ghana, and to get a clearer picture of the Diocese, he requested the website of the said Diocese in Ghana.
The foreign Vicar General opened the website only to find no information about the number of Priests in the Diocese and a seemingly empty page. He could not take such a risk, and that opportunity was lost.
THE DEPSOCOM DIRECTOR AND THE DIOCESAN WEBSITE
I would like to think that the first point of enquiry and contact with any Diocese is the website.
Therefore, it must be taken seriously, updated periodically, and all vital Diocesan information placed there, with the various departmental sites linked to the main site—from the Office of the Bishop to that of the Vicar General, the Chancery, the Finance Office, the Office of the Episcopal Vicar for Clergy, the Episcopal Vicar for Implementation of Diocesan Synod Policies (where present), the Youth Office, the Evangelization and Outreach Office, the Project and Development Office, the Diocesan Associations Office, the Diocesan Tribunal Office, and the Diocesan Office for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, etc.
Diocesan websites must neither contain every minute detail about the Diocese nor be scanty. They must provide adequate information that researchers and investors can rely upon.
How beautiful it would be if videos and clips of every pastoral event were available on the Diocesan website. This enables people to know what is happening in the Diocese—pastoral policies, decrees, important announcements, and details of programmes such as the Bible Apostolate, Formation School for Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, Diocesan Marriage Counsellors School, Sunday School Teachers School, etc. In this way, people could register online for such programmes, making the process easier, more beautiful, and innovative.
Importantly, as the DEPSOCOM Director builds up the full operation of the Diocesan website, he should know what to display and what not to display. I think one account number (not all) or mobile money number of a Diocese could be displayed for generous donors and parishioners who may wish to donate to the Diocesan or Provincial Seminary, with the permission of the Diocesan Bishop or Superior.
Often, in mission territories, many parishioners and donors are eager to donate to support the Church, but it becomes extremely difficult to even obtain bank account details.
As stated earlier, the Communication Director must be security-conscious in order to avoid exposing the Diocese unnecessarily and making it vulnerable to scammers. He must devise technical ways to protect the site from perpetrators who may attempt to break into it for foul play.
CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, as we salute all the communicators and stakeholders of communication in our Church in Ghana and beyond, we acknowledge their great efforts and encourage the leadership and all the laity to:
- Make every effort to prioritise the DEPSOCOM Office.
- Create separate funds for the Office.
- Invest more in the Office.
- Establish a solid Diocesan Communication Board from the Catholic Journalists Guild (if available) to assist the Directors in managing the Office.
- Write proposals to foreign partners to acquire modern and high-quality cameras and gadgets for effective transmission and operation.
- Involve our Catholic youth, especially those in tertiary institutions; train them as crew members, news casters, and reporters; and, where the Bishop deems it appropriate, grant scholarships to some to be trained as media professionals at the Catholic University and return to assist the Directors.
By Rev. Fr. Albert Kyei Danso
Chaplain, Holy Family Ghanaian Catholic Community Church
Italy
