Five from EAO attend the International Meeting of Salesian Bulletin Editors
Rome, Italy, 29 May 2019 -- The International Meeting of Salesian Bulletin Editors was held last May 26-29, 2019 at the Casa La Salle in Rome, Italy. The theme of this year’s meeting was: Communicate to Involve in the Mission Between the Print and the Digital Culture.
There were fifty participants from all over the world in this meeting that takes place every three years. Among the participants were five Salesian Bulletin editors from the East Asia Oceania Region: Fr. Jose Da Sa, SDB from East Timor, Fr. Peter Tukan, SDB from Indonesia, Fr. John Bosco Lee from South Korea, Fr. Ekasit Talhakultorn, SDB from Thailand, and Fr. Bernard Nolasco, SDB from the Philippines.
Right after the morning prayers and breakfast of the first day, Fr. Filiberto Gonzalez, SDB, Councilor for Social Communications, officially welcomed everyone. He invited each one to introduce himself/herself briefly then proceeded immediately to the presentation of the whole programme of this four-day international meeting.
The rest of the morning session was dedicated to the input by Professor Natasa Govekar from the Vatican Ministry for Communication. She developed the topic: “Comunication of Today's Church: Style, Resources and Challenges” that was followed by an open forum.
At 12:00 noon, everybody proceeded to the main church of the Casa De La Salle for the Sunday Mass with Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime, SDB, Rector Major, as the main presider. The end of the Holy mass he gave a book, La città di Don Bsoco (Don Bosco's city), to each participant.
The afternoon was dedicated to group work. The assembly was divided into three groups: The English speaking group, the Spanish speaking group, and the French speaking group. The group work focused on certain best practices in the different Salesian settings; as well as certain challenges and difficulties being encountered as editors of the Salesian Bulletin.
The goodnight talk for this first day was given by Fr. Pier Luigi Cameroni, SDB, the Postulator General of the Salesian Society.
The second day began with the Holy Eucharist that was presided by Fr. Filiberto. The morning session was about the “Salesian Bulletin: At the Roots of Historical Memory in the Heart and Mind of Don Bosco” that was developed by Fr. Francesco Motto, SDB. And just before lunch, the assembly watched the video message of the Rector Major.
The afternoon session’s topic was “Communicating and News Networks.” Two Italian journalists, Francesco Marino and Nicola Zamperini assisted the participants in the dynamics of networking while at the same time being updated in the field of journalism in both the print and the digital content, format and distribution.
The third day began with the Holy Eucharist with Fr. Fabio Attard, SDB, the General Councilor for Youth Ministry, as the presider.
The morning’s sessions were facilitated by professional journalists from Spain. Jose Beltran, editor of the Catholic magazine Vida Nueva, developed the topic “Experience of the Magazine: Changes And New Perspectives.” He shared the many ups and downs, victories and even defeats, successes and failures throughout the five decades of Vida Nueva; and how these experiences put directions in the magazine’s continuous existence. Esteban Lorenzo of EDEBE, on the other hand, presented “The Magazine, Format, Text for Context: Processes and Strategy” as he tried to present to the assembly the experiences of EDEBE in maximizing the available means of communication in bringing a particular message to a particular audience.
The afternoon of this third day was spent in coming up with proposals in three levels. First was on the level of the Congregation that is addressed to the Rector Major and his council. The second level is addressed to the Provincials. While the third level pertains directly to the Salesian Bulletin editors.
After the discussions by group, the plenary assembly discussed the different proposals from the groups and trimmed them down to utmost two proposals per level.
Bro. Jean Paul Muller, SDB, the Economer General of the Congregation gave the good night talk.
The last day, May 29, was spent in Vatican City. The Holy Eucharist was celebrated at 7:15am at the Chapel of San Pellegrino with Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi as the presider. They spent the rest of the morning attending the General Audience of the Holy Father, Pope Francis. After some patient waiting, they group had an opportunity to have a closer encounter with the Holy Father and a very fraternal picture taking with him.
Fr. Alberto Lorezelli, SDB, the Rector of the Salesian community in the Vatican City and Bishop-elect to Santiago, Chile, facilitated this experience with the Holy Father. He also assisted and guided the group inside the Vatican Gardens.
After the 2:00pm lunch at the Casa La Salle, the EAO Salesian Bulletin editors, together with the rest of the participants bid goodbye to went to their respective destinations. With this meeting, the EAO participants hope to share their experiences to the fellow SB editors in the region who were not able to attend this year’s meeting.
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