Bishop Appeals for Prayers for Church’s Future in Africa as SECAM Plenary Gets Underway

Accra, 26 July, 2022 / 10:00 PM

Catholic Bishops in Africa who are meeting in Ghana’s capital, Accra, need to be supported by prayers as they deliberate on the Church on the continent and her future, the President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS) has said.

Speaking to ACI Africa on the sidelines of the 19^th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo acknowledged with appreciation the efforts of the people of God in Ghana in the preparations of the July 25 – August 1 meeting of Catholic Bishops in Africa.

“I pray that the people of God can pray for us, and also pray with us and adhere themselves in whatever way they can collaborate, with their support for the success of this assembly,” Bishop Badejo told ACI Africa during the Tuesday, July 26 interview.

He added, “We are already quite impressed with the work of the Church in Ghana, the Clergy and the lay people and especially the young people for their involvement in preparing for this plenary.”

“So, we expect that kind of collaboration, especially their prayer that we will be inspired to find the right way for the Church and also for her future in Africa,” the Local Ordinary of Oyo Diocese in Nigeria said.

The current Plenary Assembly follows the July 2019 one that took place in Kampala, Uganda, marking  the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the continental symposium, and concluding with the election of Philippe Cardinal Ouedraogo, the Archbishop of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, as SECAM President.

Delegates of the 19^th Plenary Assembly are meeting under the theme, “Ownership of SECAM: Security and Migration in Africa and its Islands”.

They are drawn from the eight regional associations of Catholic Bishops. These include the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC), the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa Region (ACERAC), and the Regional Episcopal Conferences of West Africa (RECOWA/CERAO).

Other regional associations are the Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy of Egypt (AHCE), the Regional Episcopal Conferences of North Africa (CERNA), Madagascar and Episcopal Conferences of Indian Ocean (CEDOI), and the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA).

In the July 26 interview with ACI Africa, Bishop Badejo expressed gratitude to God for the possibility of in person gathering after a protracted people of COVID-19 restrictions.

He said, “No matter how important technology is, contact is very important for humanity especially in Africa, we thank God for that.”

“SECAM is over 50 years and I think it is about time that the owners, who are Bishops and the people of God in Africa can at least meet by representation to evaluate how far the journey has been,” the president of CEPACS, an initiative of SECAM, said.

The 19^th Plenary Assembly of SECAM, Bishop Badejo said, seeks to “decide if the structures we have at the moment and the way they are configured can continue to respond to the needs of the Church in Africa and to promote the mission of evangelization of the Church in Africa as the family of God.”

The member of the  Vatican Dicastery for Communication said that delegates of the meeting of Catholic Bishops in Africa and Madagascar will also discuss the issue of insecurity and migration on the continent.

“Our concern is security in Africa; there are conflicts, there are wars, bloodsheds and all sorts of things that need to be addressed,” he said, and added, “The issue of migration, which affects millions of our youth, families, and the Church as a whole will also be discussed.”

“We hope that in these seven to eight days that we are going to be together, we will have time to pray and to reflect on what solutions are possible to these challenges that Africa is facing, and as well to see how Africa can do better in making her contributions to the universal church and to the world as people of God,” Bishop Badejo told ACI Africa July 26 in Accra.