Agenzia Fides

Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) - After waiting 11 years, the Catholic radio station Radio Veritas has received the license to broadcast. "The news has filled us with joy and we still receive congratulation messages", reads a statement by Father Emil Blaser, released by Catholic News Service. Father Blaser is a Dominican priest who has been busy fighting for the cause since 2000. "We have waited so long and tried every possible means to go on air", he added. Over the past 11 years the radio station has sponsored public conferences, market research conducted online, knocked on government doors and international organizations in an attempt to receive the license to broadcast transmissions. Mgr. Buti Tlhagale, Archbishop of Johannesburg, thanked the local moderator of communications, the Independent Authority for Communications in South Africa, for accepting the requests for the license. "In the end - said Archbishop Tlhagale - Radio Veritas will air in the greater metropolitan area of Johannesburg, our archdiocese".
Radio Veritas will broadcast on the frequencies of 576kHz. The official launch will be announced when the realization of all the technical aspects are completed. Over the last year other Catholic radio stations have been launched in Africa, including one in Uganda, working in favor of children kidnapped by rebel forces and forced to enlist in the armed forces. In November 2010 the work of the pontifical right Aid to the Church in Need financed the broadcast of the diocesan radio station transmission "Radio Wa" or "Our Radio" in Lira, northern Uganda. Even if the radio has a range of just 120 kilometers, approximately 1,500 child soldiers managed to escape from the rebel army. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 17/09/2011)