The African association of Bishops, Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) is gearing up for its plenary assembly scheduled for 25 July to 1 August in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
Vatican News.
“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,” explained the SECAM Secretary General, Fr. Terwase Henry Akaabiam, in a Statement.
Insecurity and pastoral concerns
The SECAM Bishops will also deliberate on the security situation currently obtaining on the continent. Of particular interest is the role that the Church can play in silencing the guns and how best it can respond to the disruptive effects and consequences of insecurity, on the continent.
The last SECAM Plenary Assembly was held in Kampala, Uganda, in July 2019. The climax of that SECAM assembly was the celebration of the association’s Golden Jubilee. A solemn Mass was held at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo, on 28 July 2019. Various dioceses and parishes across Africa and the Islands participated in the colourful liturgy under the theme, Church-family of God in Africa; celebrate your Jubilee! Proclaim Jesus Christ, your Saviour.
Pope St Paul VI inaugurated SECAM in 1969
SECAM was born out of the desire of the African Bishops who attended the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) to establish a forum from which the Church in Africa could speak with one voice on matters of the local and universal Church.
The idea was later concretised in July 1969, during the visit of Pope Paul VI to Kampala, Uganda. Being the first time that a Pope was visiting sub-Saharan Africa, African Bishops saw it as a fitting occasion to launch the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
