On 9^th February 2018 the staff and students of St. Luke’s college had a guest lecture from 9am to 10.30am on the theme – Theology of Communication by Rev. Fr. Dr. Sebastian Periannan, Former Rector of St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore – India, and the present day Parish Priest of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Tanjore in Tamil Nadu, India. He is none other than the maternal uncle of Fr. Dr. Girish Santiago, SJ, Associate Director of SLC.

In his talk, Fr. Sebastian focused on the importance of communication and the skills required for affective and effective socio-pastoral leaders. His delivered main points are:

• Communication is a part of commune system where persons talk together and hold intimate relation with each other.
• Communication is a process of imparting, conveying or exchanging of ideas.
• Theologically, communication begins and ends with that of Dialogue. The opposite of communication is sinfulness and indifferences.
• Theologically it creates community, liberates and participates.
• Historically, communication has determined the speed and direction of social change and it maintains and animates life.
• Historically, communication integrates knowledge, organization and power. It is an art and science and has its own discipline.
• Theoretically, it is a process of attaining commonness sharing meanings between/among participants; and it is a cyclical process of attaining mutual understanding or reaching convergence in ideas and points of view.
• Communication embraces all forms of intrapersonal verbal and inter-personal non-verbal.

Along with these, he made the assembled congregation to recall, think and reflect on the three apples that revolutionized the world and called for an ongoing revolution and to make a difference in life as church leaders.

1. The Apple of Eve to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
2. Gravity was really discovered by Albert Einstein after a fallen Apple.
3. The Apple Computer.

Finally, he said that every good communicator must ask these basic questions (5 W – who, when, what, why, where and 1 H – how) for a proper search and research. Then, communicate to the world and make a difference in generating integral change within and outside!

At the end, the Director Fr. Leo Gopal thanked Fr. Sebastian and presented a gift as a token of appreciation in the presence of his nephew Fr. Girish, the cooperative and collaborative companion of Fr. Leo at St. Luke’s College.