Getting to God through technology

VERITAS Publications who originally launched Miracles do Happen is a part of The Catholic Communications Institute of Ireland, an organisation dedicated to spreading the Word of God through all means that modern technology puts at its disposal.
It is a marriage of two sets of values — those of the Gospel and those of the mass media. The Institute's purpose is simply stated: the Church in Ireland tries to be sensitive to the potential of the mass media and professional in its use.
This is the story of an organisation that grew from a vision in 1969 into a complex that today embraces publishing, training, audio and video production and a group of retail bookshops, with an annual turnover in excess of £4 million.
Ever since Jesus Christ pulled out from the shore of the lake in order to be better seen and heard by more people, there has been an onus on the Church to explore the language, culture and modes of communication of the people, in order to speak more clearly to them about God.
Today, this entails an obligation to use the media of print, radio, television, photography and the expanding world of video.
One of the success stories of the Catholic Communications Institute is Veritas Video Productions. The Veritas video catalogue contains over 200 of the best religious videos available in the world today. All pastoral needs are catered for; whether in the classroom, parish, small group setting or the home.
Veritas now sell a staggering 1,000 videos each month in Ireland, Britain, America, Australia and many other countries where the PAL video system operates.
Veritas Video Productions is a fully trained, four person team under former RTE staffer, Phil Mullally. They produce ten videos a year for the home market, as well as accepting commissions from religious orders and other lay and clerical groups.
Miracles do Happen, the story of Sr Briege McKenna, is just one of 18 books that have been published by an expanding Veritas Publications this year. Another human interest sage, The Bridge at Lo Wu, tells the story of Sr Molly O'Sullivan who spent 28 years in China and experienced the terror of the cultural revolution.
The flagship of the Catholic Communications Institute of Ireland is the large retail religious book store on one of Dublin's main thoroughfares, Abbey Street.
The Catholic Communications Institute of Ireland is presided over by Bishop Brendan Comiskey, one of Irelands best known Bishops. The Episcopal Commission for Social Communications also includes Archbishop Cassidy of Tuam and Bishop Daly of Derry in Northern Ireland.
MT