International Communications Commission Meets to Discuss Communications Plan and Study Communications Initiatives
Members of the International Communications Commission met at the General Curia May 27-29, 2024, for their annual in-person meeting. The first day was dedicated to a few items carried over from the previous meeting and a discussion of the various points contained in the report from the director of the Office of Communications.
On Tuesday, Fr. José Maria La Porte, a faculty member of the Pontifical University of Santa Croce’s Department of Communications, gave a presentation during the morning on developing a communications plan. Instead of a plan on paper, La Porte outlined the fundamental values for the plan touching three levels: global, provinces, and local houses. He encouraged members to look at the priorities (ex vocations, the scapular, communicating Carmelite spirituality with teachers, etc) and select one to begin working on a multi-year plan for implementation. The group continued to discuss the ideas presented and work on what steps we should take next.
On Monday, the members reviewed the topics carried over from the previous meeting is a video project on the Carmelite Saints, reusing content that is already prepared. The commentary would be put into the three official languages, preferably using voice over.
There is some interest in sharing resources among the local directors of communications. This would create some synergy among those responsible for communications as well as allow us to produce a true web among things we create. This sharing is already done to some extent with a number of initiatives and pictures from various events or personal collections. But sharing is often is limited because of language.
With the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in 2025, this would be an opportunity to begin working closer together, not only in social media but also in print. Other major anniversaries of provinces and ministries or projects of the Church such as the Jubilee Year could be identified. Committee member Manuel Freitas agreed to coordinate a project making available articles on the Carmelite charism for distribution every three months.
Richard Byrne updated the member on the liturgical texts approved by the General Council. These are a new Rite of Profession (ad experimentum) in English; a set of alternative readings for the Office of Readings for the Saturday Memoria of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Italian with translations into English and Spanish to follow; Ritual of the Third Order (ad experimentum); the full Mass and breviary texts for the celebration of St. Titus Brandsma as a feast (awaiting approval of the Dicastery); the text of the collect and second reading of the Office of Readings for the (Carmelite) Spanish Martyrs (awaiting approval of the Dicastery). It has been agreed that Edizioni Carmelitane will print the hardcopy of the Carmelite Propers in English.
William J. Harry, the director of the Office of Communications, had distributed a written report to the members and proceeded to highlight a number of the points.
During several weeks since April, a part-time person helped prepare books for shipping and assisted in organizing the storage shelves according to the collections. In June the staffing returned to two employees with the Office of Communications coordinating both social media for the Order and the Edizioni Carmelitane publications house.
Reports were given on Edizioni publications that have been printed or are in some phase of preparation. There have been 11 publications since the commission’s meeting in May 2023 and 14 new publications are in process. A selection of the newer books are being offered as e-books.
The new website has simplified ordering books for the customers as well as providing a wealth of information about our sales and marketing strategies. This will continue to be developed, especially information provided to customers about the content of the books.
The director reported that the number of people receiving the CITOC messages is 3, 491 (a decrease of 26) while the monthly Lectio divina is sent to 18,832 (an increase of 1,500) with a number of provinces and parishes reposting the information. Requests for prayer has spiked in the last couple of months with the office receiving 17-25 a day with a lot of new people making the requests. These are forwarded to some of the enclosed monasteries for their generous attention.
The members then reviewed the revised norms for Edizioni Carmelitane having been approved by the General Council.
Those in the ministry of communications in the provinces will be invited to a meeting in Rome which will include the 3 day biennial conference at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce, the 3 day Jubilee of the World of Communications, and a one day meeting of Carmelite communicators. Information will be sent out to those who have been identified by their provincials or commissaries.
The members will meet again via Zoom on July 2, 2024. The next in-person meeting will be at the General Curia in Rome on January 29-31, 2025.
