The 19th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) gets underway in Accra, Ghana to deliberate on the Church on the continent and her future.

Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, the President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS) acknowledged with appreciation the efforts of the people of God in Ghana in the preparations for 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 said during an 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.

The 19th Plenary Assembly with the theme, “Ownership of SECAM: Security and Migration in Africa and its Islands” are drawn from the eight regional associations of Catholic Bishops.

These include the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACECA), the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), and the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa Region (ACERCA), 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 the Indian Ocean (CEDOI), and the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA).

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