The second plenary meeting of the Association of the Diocesan/Religious Directors of Social Communications of the Catholic Church in Nigeria held on Monday, October 14th to Thursday, 17th, 2019 at the Jubilee Hotel Retreat and Resorts, Warri, Delta State began with the message of hope and encouragement from His Excellency, Most Rev. Dr John Okeoghene Afareha, the Catholic Bishop of Warri Diocese. At the opening Mass presided over by the Bishop, the Directors of communications in Nigeria renewed their hope and commitment in God through the exhortation of the Bishop Afareha. According to the Bishop, the gospel of Christ is our hope and when it is effectively carried out, our hope will be strengthened. Taking us through memory lane, the Bishop recalled how important the topic of communications is in the Church, that in history, the Church has laid much emphasis on the importance of social communications beginning with the Second Vatican Council. He further stated that, in spite of the challenges facing social communications today, Catholic Directors of Communications must be able to stand out to communicating the truth of the gospel.
Before concluding his homily, the Archbishop encouraged all Communicators and those present at the Mass to make use of the available media to communicate the truth of the gospel and to always hope in God with the assurance that God will always be there for them.
After the Opening Mass, the plenary meeting began with goodwill messages from designated persons and groups in the Diocese and the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria followed by other activities.