The West African country of Ghana will for the second time in the establishment of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) host all Catholic Bishops on the African continent for their 19th Plenary Assembly during which they are expected to discuss a range of issues including security and migration that had become a worry on the continent.
Scheduled to take place from July 25 to August, 2022, a statement released from the headquarters of SECAM in Accra said, “This year’s Plenary Assembly, which is on the theme: ‘Ownership of SECAM; Security and Migration in Africa and the Islands,’ shall firstly focus on the implications of ownership for its members.”
Hundreds of Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, the Religious and lay faithful within and outside Africa are expected to attend. The last time Ghana hosted the SECAM Plenary was during the 15th Plenary Assembly from July 26 to August 2, 2010 on the theme: “SECAM at 40: Self-Reliance and the Way Forward for the Church in Africa.” It was the first of its kind to be held in Ghana.
Nigerian born Fr. Terwase Henry Akaabiam, Secretary General of SECAM said in the release, “Concerned about the many conflicts on the African continent, which cause the death and displacement of millions of people, the Catholic bishops, secondly, consider that security is essential to build “a new Africa centered on God”, as expressed in the Kampala Document, published after the SECAM Golden Anniversary in 2019,”
The Plenary Assembly, which is the highest decision-making body of SECAM, meets every three years to draw up major policies and guidelines for the operations of the Secretariat of SECAM.
The last SECAM Plenary Assembly was held in July 2019 in Kampala, Uganda during which the Bishops in Africa marked golden jubilee of the establishment SECAM.
At the 18th Plenary Assembly, Burkinabe Cardinal Philippe Quedraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou was elected as SECAM President. He replaced the Most Rev Gabriel Mbilingi, the Archbishop of Lubango, Angola who served in the same position for six years.
The Most Rev. Sithembele Sipuka, Bishop of Mthatha, South Africa is the 1st Vice President of SECAM and the Most Rev. Lucio Andrice Muandula, Bishop of Xai Xai, Mozambique is the 2nd Vice President.
On July 29, 2018, SECAM launched its Golden Jubilee Year on the theme: “Church-family of God in Africa, Celebrate your Jubilee! Proclaim Jesus Christ your Saviour,” a deliberate decision to have a year of prayerful preparation towards the Golden Jubilee in July 2019.
SECAM is the association of Catholic Bishops of Africa, Madagascar and the Islands established in 1969 in Kampala, Uganda during the visit of Saint Pope Paul VI. It was born out of the wish of African Bishops during the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) to establish a forum in which they could speak with one voice on matters pertaining to the Church in Africa.
The establishment of SECAM is therefore the result of the Bishops’ resolve to build a continental structure in order to bring forth the African vision to the whole Church. Seeing the importance of such an Association for Africa, the Congregation for the Evangelisation of the Peoples invited the Presidents of the Regional Episcopal Conferences for consultations in 1968.
Consequently, the first visit of a Pope to Africa, in modern times, was seen as a very opportune occasion for the launch of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. This was therefore done during the visit of His Holiness Pope Paul VI in Kampala (Uganda) in July, 1969.
Thereafter, it was agreed to establish the Headquarters / Secretariat of SECAM in Accra, Ghana. There are three official languages of SECAM, namely, English, French and Portuguese.
The Mission of SECAM is to promote its role as a sign and instrument of salvation, to build the Church as a Family of God in Africa and to preserve and foster communion, collaboration and joint action among the Catholic Episcopal Conferences of Africa and the Islands. Its vision is to make the Church in Africa, fully engaged in its mission of evangelisation and the emergence of a fully evangelized Family of God in Africa.
The Symposium with its headquarters in Accra, consists of eight Regional Associations including Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC); Association of Episcopal Conferences of the Central African Region (ACERAC); Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy of Egypt (AHCE); and the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA).
The rest are the Episcopal Conferences of the Indian Ocean (CEDOI); Regional Episcopal Conference of North Africa (CERNA); Interregional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA); Meeting of the Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA/CERAO).
SECAM executes its pastoral commitments through two Commissions, namely: Evangelization and Justice, Peace and Development, to bring the voice of the Catholic Church to the issues of good governance and sustainable development, and to promote servant leadership throughout the continent and the islands, SECAM obtained observer status with the African Union (AU) in 2015.
To encourage communion, the Symposium has three official languages: English, French and Portuguese, and its foundation (called SECAM Day) is celebrated on July 29 every year.
By Damian Avevor
