SIGNIS Malaysia Celebrates Pope Francis’ Spiritual and Pastoral Leadership

As the worldwide Catholic community commemorates and celebrates with Pope Francis the 11th anniversary of his pontificate, SIGNIS Malaysia and the Fraternity of Social Communicators convey our congratulations and felicitations to him, and earnestly invoke God’s blessings for his continued spiritual and pastoral leadership, and good health.

By SIGNIS Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR — In an era of rapid technological evolution that is affecting the world of information and communication, Pope Francis stands as a steadfast beacon, constantly urging communicators and media professionals to be more human, and to navigate this landscape with integrity and purpose. 

Strongly aligned to the call of the Holy Father, SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, is missioned to help transform our cultures in the light of the Gospel by promoting human dignity, justice and reconciliation. 

As a member of this global lay non-governmental organisation, SIGNIS Malaysia is committed to working with media professionals and communicators to use their skills and platforms to foster a culture of peace. Primarily focused on providing media education and communication skills workshops, the organisation also strongly advocates ethical and responsible use of the media and the internet.

SIGNIS Malaysia continues to collaborate with like-minded partners, such as Fondacio, North-South Initiative (NSI) and others, to empower more segments of the society, including the underserved, in using the media and the internet as a means of advocacy and community transformation. Some of its initiatives include journalism courses, visual story-telling and content productions on social media, and other social awareness programmes.  

Local journalists and activists crafting their story during a visual story-telling session in 2023.
Young Asian journalists engaging in content production during a roundtable session in 2017.

Globally, SIGNIS brings together professionals who are engaged in social media, radio, TV, cinema, video, journalism and media education. SIGNIS is the largest international network of Catholic communicators with members in over 100 countries. 

SIGNIS was formed in 2001 from the merger of Unda and OCIC, two international Catholic media associations established in 1928. SIGNIS is a lay association recognised by the Dicastery for Laity, Family & Life, and which collaborates with the Dicastery for Communication. ‘SIGNIS’ is a combination of the words SIGNUM (Latin for ‘sign’) and IGNIS (Latin for ‘fire’), which symbolise the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis confers knighthood on two SIGNIS Malaysia members

SIGNIS Malaysia is privileged and thankful to acknowledge that Pope Francis has bestowed the honour of Papal Knight of the Equestrian Order of St. Sylvester, Pope and Martyr, on her members Sir Augustine Loorthusamy & Sir Lawrence John Sinniah. 

This esteemed conferral highlights their substantial contributions to social communications on both local and global levels. These honours not only recognise their individual achievements but also stand as a testament to the impactful work of SIGNIS in the field of social communications.

Sir Lawrence receiving the Papal Knighthood in 2023 from Dr. Paolo Ruffini (Prefect, Dicastery for Communication) who represented the Pope.
Sir Augustine meeting Pope Francis before receiving the Papal Knighthood in 2014.

If you are a media professional, freelance content producer or interested in the work of media or social communication, you too can be part of this global network of media professionals. Email signismalaysia@gmail.com for membership, and/or visit www.signis.world for more information.

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