The Catholic Church in Nigeria has joined the global community to mark the 2026 World Communication Day and close the 5th Nigeria Catholic Communications Week (ComWEEK) with the new bishop chairman of the Department of Communication, Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev. Gerald Mamman Musa, appealing to media practitioners to prioritise human dignity and truth over algorithms and digital manipulation.
Rev. Musa, who is also the Bishop of Katsina Diocese, warned that while digital technology offers immense opportunities, it increasingly threatens the human face and voice.
He told journalists yesterday at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja that "as we celebrate the World Communication Day, we are preserving the human face. We are emphasising human dignity. And not only the human face, but also the human voice."
The bishop, a former lecturer at the Centre for the Study of African Culture and Communication (CESACC) at the Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, stressed that Pope Leo XIV had called on the faithful to recognise the dignity of the human person amid the digital revolution.
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"The Pope calls on us that we must, in the midst of all this, in the usage of digital technology, that we must also recognise the dignity of the human face. The dignity of the human voice. The voice of truth and a face that reflects the image of God," he stated.
Musa expressed deep concern about the vulnerability of young people in the current media environment, noting that children and youth struggle to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
"We know that the young people we have, children and youth, are impressionable. And most of the time, they are influenced by what they read, they are influenced by what they see. Most of the time, they find it difficult to differentiate between fantasy and reality," he said.
He called for the development of critical thinking skills among young Nigerians to combat misinformation.
"The young people have to have critical minds. The minds that enable them to differentiate between truth and fantasy. Between misinformation and truth itself," he said.
The bishop acknowledged the dual nature of media technology, warning that while many trained practitioners use it positively, others deploy it unethically.
In his welcome remarks, the secretary-general of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, emphasised that the Pope's chosen theme for 2026, "Preserving Human Voices and Faces," speaks directly to Nigeria's current challenges.
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"The theme reminds us that behind every message is a person, behind every story is a face, and behind every voice is a life that must not be ignored, mocked or wounded.
"In a country already burdened by insecurity, political tension, economic hardship and social mistrust, communication must not become another weapon of injury," he said.
In his address, the outgoing national director of Social Communications, Rev. Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, who is completing a six-year tenure, expressed profound gratitude to the immediate past Bishop Chairman, Most Rev. David Ajang, describing him as "a pillar of support, a visionary guide, and a father."
Umoh formally introduced the new Bishop Chairman, Most Rev. Gerald Musa, as a titan in communication scholarship.
