African bishops have asked Radio Vatican, the official radio of the pope, to
restore shortwave transmissions to the continent, the Catholic agency Fides
reported on Friday.
Catholics are estimated to number more than 150
million in Africa, the poorest of all continents, and the world's largest
seminary is located in Nigeria.
The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of
Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), meeting in the Ghanaian capital Accra, has
written a letter expressing "concern about the recent shutdown of the shortwave
services of the radio, which afforded millions of Africans the opportunity to
hear (the) Holy Father and share in the Church's concerns and mission," Fides
said.
In 2012, the then director general of the Vatican broadcast
service, Father Federico Lombardi, had cut medium- and short-wave services by
half, citing measures of economy and stopped transmitting to Europe and the
Americas.
"Webcasting and satellite transmissions, along with
rebroadcasting by local, regional and national radio stations, guarantee the
widest possible outreach to Vatican Radio's programming and services," he had
said.
This was why "Vatican Radio believes the time has come to reduce
its reliance on traditional technologies, like short- and medium-wave
broadcasts, and to develop its resources in new directions".
This year,
services to Africa, Asia and the Middle East will be slashed, Fides
said.
"While recognising that Vatican Radio services can still be
received through the Internet," the SECAM said "many Africans simply do not have
the means or the technology to enjoy such services".
"Vatican Radio has
always been a credible source for accessing news about the Universal Church and
a ready channel for sharing news about Africa with the rest of the world," they
said.
Radio Vatican was created in 1931 and has services in 45
languages.
With the latest move "a heritage is in the process of being
destroyed," a Fides journalist told AFP.