As part of activities marking the 2026 World Communication Day Celebration, the Communication Department of Catholic Diocese of Zaria organized a one-day workshop at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Pastoral Center, Graceland Zaria, Saturday, May 16, 2026. During the event which had participants from different parishes within the diocese in attendance, the Director of Communication of the diocese, Rev. Fr. Felix Yayock delivered the Pope’s Message for the Day, orienting participants on the need to report events in their various parishes. He also itemized challenges confronting the department, even as he solicited assistance for the purchase or donation of the needed gadgets.
While presenting a paper titled, ‘Effective Communication as a Tool for Magnifying the Catholic Diocese of Zaria’, the Chairman of Social Department of the diocese, Mr. Joseph Nashakyaa explained that technology and the Church each has their language, urging attendees to report in the language of the Church whenever the report for the religious institution. The presenter who told them to always look cheerful, joyful and happy as communicators, also spoke on the dangers of poor communication, even as he tasked them to enlarge their areas of responsibilities.
“Communication is key to all aspects of life.” He told them. “There is nothing you can do without communication. God has called us, particularly in this field of social communication. There is much we can do to make the world better. So, I hope that at the end of this presentation, we will appreciate the value of communication, sharpen our communication skills, and try to estimate the cost of poor communication. Communicate in the language of the Church, when reporting for the Church. Accept the consequences of communication anytime you write. Look cheerful, joyful and happy. It is your duty to enlarge any office you are given.”
Delivering the second paper with the title, ‘The Stewardship of Digital Identity: Preserving the Human Voices and Faces in the Age of Generative AI,’ Dr. Michael Esew, asserted that, despite the benefits of Generative AI, “the human person definitely comes over the digital and technological issues.”
He continued, “The 2026 World Day highlights a critical reflection point, that is, the increasing vulnerability of human persona in digital space. We are vulnerable in the digital space. A lot of things are going on with our identities that we need to know. Someone hearing your voice is already getting your data, because we all have digital twins. We are across digital dimensions. Human voices and faces are not merely data points.”
Dr. Esew charged them to be conscious of every digital information they receive at every point in time, enlightening that though, Generative AI has made a lot of things simple, it also has their pattern online, which can be used to falsify their information. Querying how do they may know that they are vulnerable if they are not informed about such vulnerability, he implored them to go beyond the worship and acquire the necessary knowledge, and in turn use it to defend the Church against vulnerability to Generative AI.
Making his contribution, Rev. Fr. Patrick Adikwu Odeh tasked them to be in charge of what they do and to represent the Church well, even as he catechized that Jesus is the Content of the Church’s Communication. He then nudged them to protect the dignity of the human person and to align themselves with the teachings of the Church, as the go about communicating in the name of the Church.
