The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most. Rev. Adewale Martins, on Sunday urged media practitioners to be agents of evangelisation through their news reporting.
The Archbishop made the call in his homily at a virtual Mass celebrated at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos, to commemorate the 54th Anniversary of the World Communucation Sunday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this year’s theme of the World Communication Sunday by His Holiness, Pope Francis is: “The Value of Storytelling and its Importance in Shaping Lives’’.
Adewale said that stories had influence on people’s behaviour, adding that there was the need to find truth in the stories being disseminated.
According to him, there are stories that build people together and there are also stories that create division.
“In the stories that create division, there are news items that do not care about fact.
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“It is in the face of this that the Holy Father calls us to isolate the truth that we hear and let it guide us.
“This truth also challenges media men and women to speak the truth that comes to them.
“So what we hear or watch in music, movies and news, influences our actions and inactions,” he said.
According to him, media practitioners should also be conscious of the influence their stories have on the role model people choose.
He said that media practitioners’ stories should direct people to the right models, just like the miracles of Jesus was designed to teach his followers to take care of the needs of people.
Adewale charged journalists to see themselves as those the Lord had called upon to be agents of evangelisation, bringing people closer to God.
“Let it challenge us to bring new disposition of God to people.”
