DHAKA (UCAN) -- When local thugs set fire to 16 houses in a village in northwestern Bangladesh, a local Catholic priest's first move was not to run for a bucket of water but to grab his mobile phone and call local and national media.

Father Bernard Rozario told 32 priests and nuns at a Church-run workshop that having good media relations can be a lifesaver. In this case it helped resolve indigenous people's property claims in Chandpukur parish, part of Rajshahi diocese.

The Aug. 28-29 workshop, "Meet the Press: Role of the Catholic Church in Handling Media,” was aimed at helping clergy and Religious use the media more effectively and build relations with reporters to aid the Church's work in this Muslim-majority country.

Priests and nuns from around the country, including the heads of several Religious congregations and institutions, took part in the workshop, which the Bangladeshi Catholic bishops' Christian Communications Center conducted at Caritas Development Institute in Dhaka.

Father Rozario related the incident in which a group of people set fire to the houses of indigenous Santal families at dawn on Nov. 5, 2007, in Uttarkazipara village, in the territory of Chandpukur parish, where he was serving as assistant pastor.

"By 7 a.m., we were able to able to inform local media and people in Dhaka. Journalists responded immediately, and thus news came out the next day in almost all national and local dailies, as well as television,” said Father Rozario, who is now based in Foilzana quasi-parish, part of Rajshahi diocese's Mothurapur parish.

Bengali land grabbers were trying to force the Santal families off government land, he explained. But because of the media attention, government officials, police and tribal leaders rushed to the village and the families were able to get proper land deeds from the government, he continued, adding that Caritas Bangladesh rebuilt their houses.

Father Rozario used the incident as a practical example of how the Church can use the media to help with its work.

According to Father Kamal Corraya, director of the communications center, priests and nuns lack knowledge about and do not have enough contact with the media. Having good relations with journalists is important, he stressed.

The priest said clergy generally do not find it easy to call on the media when an unpleasant incident takes place.

“Some of our priests and nuns do not even know what the communications center has and produces,” the director told UCA News after the workshop, during which participants visited the center to see its work.

Sister Mary Anita, head of the Associates of Mary, Queen of Apostles, confirmed that they learned the center did many good things they did not know about beforehand.

“We need to learn about the media so that we can maintain better relations and publish news about ourselves,” she remarked.

Father Anthony Sen, parish priest of Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Thakurgaon, Dinajpur diocese, 460 kilometers northwest of Dhaka, also spoke with UCA News. This kind of training “needs to be arranged at the diocesan level,” he said, also calling for the “participation of Church leaders.”

S.M. Babu, senior reporter of TV channel ATN Bangla, and Z.I. Mamun, its chief news editor, spoke to participants about news and how it is published and broadcast.

“From them we came to know how they collect information and publish news,” Father Rozario said, adding that participants “understand better the importance of keeping good relations with the media.”

According to Father Corraya, the program not only highlighted the need to understand the media and maintain better media relations, but also the need to explain Catholic terms to “non-Christian” media people.

Journalists may be unclear about Christianity, terms such as bishop and father, and what the Church does, Father Corraya said. As a result, the media sometimes “misinterprets” developments in the Christian community.

He said he hopes clergy and Religious will now feel freer to deal with the media, contacting them not only when something unpleasant happens but also to help media people understand more about the Church.

Archbishop Joseph Marino, apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh, and Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi, chairman of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications, inaugurated the workshop.

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