Karachi Catholics to have Urdu weekly
The archdiocese has given the go ahead for Fr Charles' project. No title has been announced for the paper yet, the first of its kind in the national language.
Karachi (AsiaNews) The Catholic Community of Karachi, Pakistan, will soon have a weekly in Urdu. This was revealed by the man behind the project, Fr Arthur Charles. The priest recently received the green light from leaders of the archdiocese, including the Archbishop, Mgr Evarist Pinto, who said: "In our age more than in any other, we can not neglect the influence of the media and mass communication and their potential for proclaiming the Word of God. I keep on stressing that we need to engage more actively in our Catholic media... I am in no doubt Fr Charles' work will prove very fruitful."
At the moment, the archdiocese of Karachi has an English weekly, The Christian Voice. Fr Charles told AsiaNews: "The Urdu weekly will be in the style and format of The Christian Voice. The contents will comprise official news both from the Archdiocese and the Holy See, news and views of interest from other dioceses, reports from around the world, features focusing on biblical, theological, liturgical, moral and social issues." Fr Charles has set up an editorial team of friends and respected journalists over the past eight months. "My friends do not only share my vision with me but they also give their expert opinion," he said. The publication will depend entirely on donations.
The aim of the priest is to set up "a medium for the education and formation of our people." He continued: "I have a much broader perspective of this mission. I want to make the weekly a platform for the community to express their views and a training field in various disciplines. I want to see it as a means to yield future writers, reporters, editors, commentators, producers and analysts."
Convinced that his weekly will be a success, Fr Charles is setting his sights high. Among his goals: a Christian television channel and a radio at archdiocesan level with the view of "expanding it in the whole country and beyond".
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