Bishop Gerald Lobo celebrated Christmas along with the journalists and media friends at the Mother of Sorrows Church Auditorium on 20 December 2021.
Ms Violet Femina, Sub Inspector of the only Women’s Police Station in Udupi was the chief guest. Other dignitaries on the dais were, B Manjunath – Udupi District Information and Broadcast Officer, Rajesh Shetty-President of Udupi District Working Journalists Association, Fr Chetan Lobo-PRO of Udupi Diocese and Michael Rodrigues-Co-Ordinator of Christian Media of Udupi Diocese.
Following the welcome address by Fr Chetan Lobo, the Christmas get-together was initiated by Bishop Gerald Lobo by cutting the Christmas cake along with the dignitaries on the dais.
In her message Ms Violet Femina said, “When Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, the Angels and later the shepherds spread the good news to the people, hence becoming the earliest messengers. Journalists and media persons collect the news in modern times and spread it through print and electronic media. The media persons have a great responsibility of verifying the truth of the incidents or events and giving the correct picture of the same. However, it has been found that certain journalists and media persons present the news based on rumours or hearsay. Sometimes such unverified news creates problems in society”. She conveyed the greetings of Christmas to all media persons.
On the occasion, two journalists were felicitated. Subhas Chandra Wagle- Udupi District Chief of Bureau of Kannada Prabha and Udupi District Rajyotsava Award winner was honoured by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo and dignitaries on the dais. Editor of Kundapura Prabha and writer of many books U S Shenoy was also felicitated on the occasion. On behalf of U S Shenoy, Rajesh Shetty accepted the honour.
In his reply to the felicitation, SubhaschandraWagle said that he had been a part of the Christmas get-together organized by the Udupi Diocese since its inception ten years ago. He appreciated the efforts taken by Bishop Gerald Lobo in promoting communal harmony in the Udupi District.
B Manjunath and Rajesh Shetty in their addresses conveyed the Christmas greetings to all and hoped that peace and communal harmony would prevail in the district due to the gatherings like the Christmas get-together of the media persons.
In his presidential address, Bishop Gerald Lobo said that Christmas is a feast celebrated throughout the world by people irrespective of their communal affiliation, language or culture. Christmas conveys the message of peace and love. Christmas represents the incarnation of God as a human being. Jesus, the Son of God was born in poverty to a woman in a manger surrounded by cattle and sheep. As He grew up, Jesus had to face rejection and persecution. Right from Bethlehem to Golgotha, it was a journey through which Jesus went on doing well and spreading the good news of salvation, but he had to face ridicule and humiliation. In spite of all this, Christmas is a feast that brings joy and happiness to all.
Bishop Gerald Lobo appreciated the contribution of media persons to Udupi Diocese through their coverage of various events organized by the diocese.
Several media persons participated in the Christmas get-together. Fr Charles Menezes-Parish priest of Mother of Sorrows Church, Udupi and Dean of Udupi Deanery, Fr Vincent Crasta-Secretary of CESU and Fr Harold Pereira were present for the programme.