Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Catholic Radio bringing voice to voiceless in Uganda

Catholic Radio bringing voice to voiceless in Uganda

Last updated on: December 19, 2014 at 3:35 pm by CNA Daily News

Catholic Radio bringing voice to voiceless in Uganda 2014-12-19T15:35:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Arua, Uganda, Dec 19, 2014 / 08:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A small community radio station in rural Uganda, running almost entirely on solar power, is spreading the Gospel and giving “voice to the voiceless” in regions of conflict and suffering.

Radio Pacis, located in Arua, Uganda, was recently the recipient of Eurosolar's European Solar Prize for 2014 in the category of One World Corporation, for its promotion of solar power.

“We produce more power during the day than we need,” said Comboni missionary Fr. Tonino Pasolini in an interview with CNA, “so the power goes into the community.”

Fr. Tonino, who founded Radio Pacis in 2003, was in Rome for the award ceremony in November.

He said that, because the station is in a region with a long history of conflict and suffering under dictatorships, it has been called “Radio Pacis” – or “Radio of Peace.”

With the tagline “Peace of Christ for all,” Fr. Tonino said, “its mission is to proclaim the good news, the Good News of Jesus for the holistic development of the person and the society.”

As a community radio staffed with nearly 100 people, including a network of 75 local journalists, the team goes out into communities, sometimes hundreds of kilometers away, to explore the various issues being faced.

The local people of these communities, many located in regions of conflict or injustice, “speak out,” Fr. Tonino said. “They are courageous because they are safe with us, with our staff. They have the courage to say what they think because they feel protected by us.”

“People are amazed by this because they hear their voices, these problems which are in a given village, [and how] it’s similar to the issues of another village,” he said. They “feel really that the voice of the voiceless finally is heard.”

Reaching out to Protestants, Muslims and Catholics alike, Fr. Tonino described the station as a “missionary radio.”

“We want to portray the vision of the Second Vatican Council,” he said. “Pope Francis speaks so much about [how] we are happy to share [the faith] with everybody, and people start understanding. Even Muslims start respecting Catholics much more than they used to in the past.”

Recently, director of Vatican Radio's English program, Sean Patrick Lovett, was part of a team which went down to Radio Pacis to teach the journalists and technicians the basics of radio broadcasting.

“The response was extraordinary,” he told CNA, “because the people were so passionate about what they do.”

At Radio Pacis, he explained, the journalists are not confined to studios and offices, but rather must “go out into the field” to “encourage people to tell their stories.”

Lovett, who himself was born in South Africa, explained that “in Africa, you still have this wonderful, oral story-telling tradition.”

“The young people, the old people, the men, the women, the children, they tell their stories.”

Vatican Radio provides some of the programming for Radio Pacis, bringing the voice of the Pope to those in the region.

For many – such as refugees from South Sudan and Congo – radio “really becomes their only connection with the world outside. A source information. A source of consolation,” Lovett said.

“Africa is immense,” he explained. “Africa is so diverse. You have the huge, thriving cities. You have the rural Hinterlands. You have the towns. You have the villages. And you have areas where electricity doesn’t reach…Very often the people don’t read or write.”

“Radio cuts across all of this. Radio doesn’t need electricity. Radio doesn’t need to be read. Radio touches the most elemental and emotional heart of the human person. It reaches places where no other media will reach. And, it touches people in a way that no other media can touch them.”

“And that is why radio will never die. In Africa, it’s growing faster than you and I can imagine.”

For priests like Fr. Tonino, who is often unable to visit many of the parishes in his community on a weekly basis, Lovett said Radio Pacis “truly becomes the connecting link: that which allows the community to feel as a community, and to be part of the Church, and linked with other communities in the area.”

Middle East - Africa

Previous Post

December 19, 2014

Concern mounts in India over persecution of religious minorities

Next Post

December 19, 2014 Pope warns against sterile egoism rooted in a desire for power

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the "Great Schism" in Christian history?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Division between Eastern and Western churches Catholic-Protestant split Council of Trent Crusades