Papal Visit Communication Officers Training
Blogged by James Preece on 28th June 2010
Some interesting photographs have turned up on the Bishop's Conference Flickr stream under the heading "Papal Visit Communication Officers Training".
Interesting because some of the people in that photograph are from Catholic Voices. Are Catholic Voices now known as "Papal Visit Communication Officers"?
It would seem not - because many of the Catholic Voices are missing.
Is this a different group?
But if it is a different group - what is Jack Valero doing there? I would say that he has fingers in many pies but in the photo below he seems to have lost an arm...
The lady is Julie Etchingham ITV News Presenter.
What is that stuff on the table?
Lego.
The Papal Visit Communication Officers are playing with lego?
What's that on the whiteboard? Facebook?
But only days ago Austen Ivereigh was arguing on this very blog that Catholic Voices was not the place for evangelisation because it was only involved with news media.
Can anybody explain what's going on?
You can view the full set here.
Reader Comments
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James Blythe said...
Hi James
My name's James Blythe and I am actually one of the Papal Visit Communications Officers, so I thought I would be well-placed to reply.
The Papal Visit Comms Officers are a group of young people formed as volunteers by the Catholic Communications Network, to promote the visit beforehand, enthuse people about it, and then to report on it during the visit. Our hope is that we can capture some of the human stories of Pope Benedict's visit which may be missed by the mainstream media. We would also be available to media for interviews and such like.
Effectively, unlike Catholic Voices, our existence is a project of the Bishops' Conference, and we are purely for the papal visit. That probably is the simple difference. Jack Valero was there (I would imagine: you would have to ask him) to share some insights and to hear Julie Etchingham talk.
Julie Etchingham kindly gave up time to come and talk about her perspective on how the mainstream media would be covering the Visit of the Holy Father, and how we should be promoting it and handling various things. It was fantastic to have her there. Since several of the group are prospective journalists, she also shared some advice on that subject.
I must make clear: we didn't use the Lego on the tables. A little bit bonkers, I know, but part of the day was run by a consultant and I suspect she put it there. Having said that, it was quite a fun thing to do with your hands while listening to people talk.
We did spend some considerable time talking about Facebook during the day, as we want to reach out in particular to young people, and undoubtedly it is one of their key media tools. We talked about a whole variety of aspects of the media, including, you will be pleased to hear, blogs.
I hope that answers your questions: you can always email me if you have any more. Please keep our group in your prayers. You are in mine.
James
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Richard Reeves said...
Why is everything always London based? One would think that any of us who live outside of the M25 corridor have nothing to say or contribute to the Papal Visit. Bonkers really, especially as the BBC Religion & Ethics department is based in Manchester.
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Luke Fenton said...
The "Papal Communication Officers" are in fact representatives from all the dioceses in England and Wales. Two meetings have been arranged for them, one of which is pictured here (the London meeting) and another in Liverpool.
I am myself from the Nottingham Diocese and travelled down for the meeting.
For me, the meeting offered some fantastic insights into the ways to use media and how to best publicise the Papal Visit later this year.
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Hestor said...
...what is Jack Valero doing there? I would say that he has fingers in many pies
Do you expect anything less from someone in Opus Dei?
And if there were any visual aids to explain why the Catholic church in England is beyound parody, it would be the ones above.
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Michael said...
http://www.rcdow.org.uk/download.asp?filename=http://www.rcdow.org.uk/fileupload/upload/ConsecrationCentenaryMass2010286201011622.pdf
Completely off-topic, sorry, but I thought this was encouraging reading.
I know there are plenty of other things to worry about and I promise I don't normally read Mass sheets for the fun of it, but on liturgical matters, Archbishop Nichols certainly seems to be in the right place.
And I noticed 'I was glad' (Parry) was sung by the choir. Staple Anglican repertoire but no less fitting for a Catholic celebration. A nod perhaps to how the Anglican musical tradition may enrichen the Catholic liturgy via the Ordinariate?
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Clare said...
Hestor
"Do you expect anything less from someone in Opus Dei?"
I'm confused. We don't like libs, we don't like trads.
Who DO we like here?
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Genty said...
Not just London, but it looks to me very like . . . . . . Eccleston Square.
I hope and pray that these, largely, very young people do well.
However, having worked in the media for a whole career I would say it is well-nigh impossible to train media-savvy people in one or two sessions.
The biggest mistake by the Catholic Church, not alone among big organisations, is to believe that media work is a bit of a hobby and anyone can do it if they are enthusiastic enough. Enthusiasm may be necessary but, sadly, it is far from sufficient. We know that already from the woeful and non-existent performances of those at the highest level.
You certainly wouldn't put novices in to play for national sports teams/go on stage at the National Theatre/play in a national orchestra.
To get to that level takes years of training inside a profession, not outside it.
This is the one time when the Catholic Church needed a bunch of hardened professionals.
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Richard Reeves said...
Exactly, even a well trained pro like the lead speaker,Julie Etchingham, made a boob by leaving her microphone on and suggesting that immigrants be exterminated.
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santa anna said...
What I don't understand is the universal age discrimination in these projects. Is it that no one over the age of 40 is thought suitable to deal with the media (regardeless of their experience), or that no one gives a toss about what anyone over the age of 40 thinks?
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Richard Collins said...
I would like to know who the PVCOs for Wales are. I recently communicated with Jack Valero who told me that Wales did not have a spokesman but that an English speaker could cover any needs.
That does not go down well here.
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Ttony said...
"Con la iglesia hemos topado", as Don Quixote said to Sancho.
I suggested to somebody the other day that there is an entryist project being carried out in the Catholic Church in England and Wales. I meant something like the Militant Tendency.
Our luck is that we get something like Moonies.
This isn't about speakers: this is about somebody hijacking what the Catholic Church (in E&W;) is; ironically, hijacking something that was being driven in a manner that suggested that the driver wasn't in control anyway.
They have, of course, divided us, and are ruling us. We don't achieve anything because we aren't united against them, in the same way as they are united against us. They are like the 1997 Labour Party and we are like the 1997 UKIP.
They will win unless we change tactics.
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Jim said...
So you want to reach out to young people....could I suggest that you get Carol Vorderman involved......lots of old fogeys in wheel chairs would love be be pushed close to lovely Pouting Carol.....and old Fogeys, need young Fogeys to push their bath chairs for them.....I know this I've seen it at Lourdes....
Especially when all the Young Fogeys get up and do their liturgical Dancing....
Pope Benedict is 83......will the Young Fogeys be dancing for him..???
The Brentwodd Diocese were the worst young Fogey troupe at Lourdes this year.....but then again, I had a hangover and missed the Lancaster Young Fogeys.....my wife, she never drinks, and never feels my pain..?? said the Lancaster Young Fogeys were dreadfull....but they can't have been as bad as Brentwood......they really did have a bongo drum.....and they battered it all through "Mass"
Does Pope Benedict like bongo drums....maybe we should ask Carol..???
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Jim said...
A Bee Bop a Loo Bop and He's our Papa....
A Bee Bop a Loo Bop he drives us Crazy....
A Bee Bop a Loo Bop.....he hails from Bavaria....
A Bee Bop a Loo Bop, he Bops all over the World.....
Yeah, Daddy Oh..!! lets put a show on ...right here...!!!!!
Someone remind Lord Brideshead that it's the Hula skirts with the Credo.......and the Top Hat and Tails for Carols....Last Gospel number....from the top....
a Bee Bop a Loo Bop........
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Jim said...
Thank God...I'll be on an Oilrig and miss the whole ghastly mess....
What did Poor Pope Benedict do to deserve this bunch of imbeciles organising his visit....????
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Jim said...
Dotcha just Lurve the way that all the "On Message" messages get a Yay....while all the skeptical messages get a Boo..???
Allegedly someone Teenager called Liam McNally is to warble the Pater Noster at Poor Pope Benedict at Hyde Park....I know..!! why not show that there is life after death by having the voice of the late, great Humphrey Lyttleton introduce Liam thus......."Colin Sell will now accompany Liam in the Pater Noster to the tune of .....House of the Rising Sun"....that'll have all the aged teenagers from '68 weeping into their Fair Trade coffee......??????
And finally this weeks quiz.....
Who said of the late Pope John Paul II...."The Pope goes to various countries, has masses attended by Millions, he returns to Rome, and the Churches collapse behind him......Where is the Renewal"......????
That is our problem, there has been no renewal, In my parish since the late 60's 75% of Catholics have voted with their feet, in 2009, allegedly there were only 11 ordinations to the priest hood in the whole of England and Wales.
Liam McNally and Carol Vorderman ain't gonna promote renewal....no matter how many Boo's you give this post.
Answer to the quiz.....Archbishop Lefebvre.....he is still, single handedly attracting more vocations to the priesthood 19 1/2 years after he died than all the Bishops of Britain combined.....what did we do to deserve such a bunch of losers.....????
You want renewal.....Implement Summorum Pontificum...NOW....in every single parish.
We way laid Archbishop Nichols at Lourdes two weeks ago he was all smiles when he heard my Scottish accent.....he wasn't smiling when my wife told him that he and people like him were "Getting in the way" and that he should be teaching the Faithfull who are pig ignorant when it comes to the Mass.....that's why they need poor old Carol and silly Liam....mass for the vast majority has become an Entertainment.....nothing more.
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