«Radio El Sonido de la Esperanza», of the Catholic Youth Network (RCJ), is the first Catholic radio station in Cuba to broadcast online 24 hours a day, thanks to the commitment of a group of young communicators who spread the Church’s message through the internet, reported Fides News Agency.
Born recently as «an online and permanent broadcaster of various radio programs produced by the Church of Cuba and other parts of the world, according to a grid that we are still working on», said to Inter Press Service Rubén de la Trinidad, founder and one of the directors of the Catholic Youth Line (RCJ).
Born in February 2019, the RCJ is a virtual community with a presence on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram and Whatsapp; which has the support of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (COCC).
The initiative aims to train and inform the Cuban Catholic community through social networks, build bridges and connect its members in the Caribbean country or abroad, as well as encourage young people to make a concrete commitment to Christian life, according to the teachings of the Church and its social doctrine.
As is well known, Cuba has gone through several difficult situations regarding the media. This is why the radio station is a novelty, «because in Cuba, although the Church can access the mass media, it does not have its own television channel or radio station», said Rubèn de la Trinidad, deacon of the Congregation of the Mission of the Paulines.
The Catholic Church on the island has a system of printed publications and bulletins mainly limited to parishioners, while in some of the 11 dioceses in the country, groups of lay people create sound programs that are disseminated through alternative channels, such as USB sticks for PC. Recently the Internet has arrived in almost all homes, making the work of the PMS possible with these new tools
