Arua Diocese

Radio Pacis 19th Anniversary 2023 celebration in Nebbi Catholic Diocese.

Bishop Raphael p'Mony Wokorach, Bishop of Nebbi Catholic Diocese commended Radio Pacis for promoting peace and unity in the region of West Nile, South Sudan and eatern parts of Congo.

Bishop made the remarks during the celebration of the 19th anniversary and launch of Radio Pacis Bureau that took place on the 25th of October 2023 at Nebbi Diocese Media Center, Nebbi District.

Among the distinguished dignitaries present at the occasion were Bishop of Arua Diocese, Rt.Rev. Sabino Ocan Odoki, the Vicar General of Nebbi Catholic Diocese, Monsignor Jackson Odiga, the Pastoral Coordinator of Nebbi Diocese, Fr. Emmanuel, the Founder of Radio Pacis, Fr. Tonino, the Director of Radio Pacis, Fr. Charles, the local government officials including the LCV Nebbi and the Mayor of Nebbi town council, as well as other government representatives, devoted Christians, and well-wishers of the Radio Pacis family.

Bishop Wokorach thanked Radio Pacis for actively participating in the ministry of proclaiming the word of God through technology, providing education, information and formation of Christians. He warmly welcomed the establishment of a Bureau of the station frequency 94.5 in Nebbi Diocese.

"Today we are celebrating Radio Pacis at 19, when i was asked weather i would be available on this day, looking at all the achievements of Radio Pacis, i thought Pacis was 25 years or beyond. Because at 19 we see how so much it has done, congratulations to Radio Pacis. If Pacis at 19 can do this, i think at 25 it will be at it's greatest. We really thank Pacis at 19 because it has kept the voice of education, the voice of information and the voice of evangelisation alive in our region and beyond. The voice of Pacis goes, to South Sudan, Congo and even crossing to the other sidde of the Nile. And this is the reason why we give thanks to God in this mass and at the same time ask for grace that the spirit that governs Pacis may strongly be alive forever." Said the Biahop Raphael.

Bishop Raphael urged Communication and Media Centers to perform with a spirit founded in the gospel. "Once again, many times communication words we use today can become words of manipulation, words that disorient people from the truth that they should know. Radio Pacis has been an instrument to help us correct some of the misunderstanding that have invaded our culture and also our mentality. We can say radio Pacis is an educator besides doing the work of evangelisation as well as all the media centers if they do their work with the spirit that is founded in the gospel. " Said Bishop Raphael.

Relating to the gospel according to St Luke, "Even Jesus used the means available at the time to evangelize. He went around, that was the means primarily they had to spread the messages they had at heart. 72 who went two by two in pairs, that was the model, so one should be a witness to the message of the other. Because the truth in the message had to be preserve. So Jesus had his own means of communication to evengelzse at his time using the people he had prepared, Communication is part and passel of our human life. We can say even nature, A human person can only grow when he is capable to communicate.

Communicating means having the gift to listen, and having the gift to speak also. So we have these preachers gifts in our mist as expressed by the presence of technologically prepared means of communication , the radio house and Radio Pacis is one of those houses building the culture of communicating the word of God through the radio. I believe what we communicate matters a lot. Any form of communication if useful to the society must be looked at as a gift. A gift for our selves, a gift for the society, a gift to link us with one another, this is precious, we are not born to be isolated, we are born to be connected to one another and one of the most sure way of connecting to one another is having a communication means in our midst.

And if we have Radio Pacis, we feel blessed. We feel that God is linking us in away we cannot imagine. All of you has had experience of Radio Pacis. Radio Pacis has the voice of people to create awareness first of the needs which we have, following its own name Pacis which means Peace. To help us be a people that build peace, we know communication can be a gift and also communication can become a curse. We are fruits of the word, the word we hear form us, the words we hear make us become who we are. I remember somebody offered me the meal special to their culture, that is caterpillars, that was a precious food. And later the family who offered it said Father you eat it , you will really enjoy it , and i couldn't. What came to my mine was the word that i had received from my background that caterpillars is not good to be eaten and that thought tells us that we are fruits of the word we receive. We know that what we fear and what we love pass through the kind of communication words that we receive , when we receive words that makes us peace makers, we become strong persons in peace building. And this is at the back of the foundation of this Radio , Peace is what the world needs. And the world must grow.

We must participate in creating that mentality of peace and using the means available to us in grooming the culture of peace building. This is one thing that Radio Pacis has contributed so much to our region. Way back in S,Sudan , i remember when they were talking about how radios could help them bring down the tension, the one thing they appreciated was the contribution of Radio Pacis. Radio Pacis over the 19 years has indeed lived according to its name , bringing peace. And we are very grateful for the commitment that this radio is We thank you very much Radio Pacis " Concluded Bihop Raphael.

Bishop Sabino expressed his gratitude to Bishop Raphael for welcoming Radio Pacis in Nebbi and extended appreciation to various individuals, including Rev. Fr. Tonino, the Communications Secretary of Arua Diocese, the founding team, Director Fr. Charles, and the management team of Radio Pacis for their outstanding work over the 19-year period. He seconded and blessed the request that the 94.5 frequency of Radio Pacis that is mostly in Alur language be brought to Nebbi so that the Christians will not have to travel to Arua to use the radio. He said Radio Pacis is a radio that brings peace of Christ in homes and encouraged the faithful to listen and promote the station. He also encouraged using the station for economic advancements like advertisement of businesses to improve on the economic situation of the region.

Overwhelmed by the warm reception, Rev. Fr. Tonino expressed gratitude to Bishop Raphael for embracing the idea of a Radio Pacis Bureau in Nebbi. Director of Radio Pacis, Fr. Charles, conveyed deep appreciation to Bishop Raphael for the welcome extended to them in Nebbi. He clarified the primary reason for launching the Bureau in Nebbi, emphasizing the challenges faced by the people of Nebbi, partners, and even the Bishop of Nebbi in traveling to Arua for talk shows held in the evenings. He assured Nebbi listeners that there would be no delay in the frequency, even when programs are held in Nebbi, as they would be broadcast-ed in real-time.