WHAT IS SECAM ?
A Prophetic Vision
The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) was born out of the will of young African Bishops during the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). They wanted to speak with one voice. The establishment of SECAM is therefore the result of the bishops resolution to build a continental structure in order to bring forth the African vision to the whole Church.
Seeing the importance of such and Association for Africa, the Congregation for the Evangelisation of the Peoples invited the Presidents of the Regional Episcopal Conferences for consultation in 1968. A year later, the first-ever visit of a Pope to Africa was seen as very opportune to launch the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar As a matter of fact, His Holiness Pope Paul VI was welcomed to Kampala (Uganda) for the official launching of SECAM.
By choosing the word Symposium, instead of that of Conference, the Founding Fathers of SECAM wanted to emphasise their desire of communion and fellowship, as a matter of fact, the word symposium in Greek, signifies meal, banquet. In his opening speech, the late, Paul Cardinal ZOUNGRANA gave an explanation of the concept of symposium by using the image of the Eucharistic table, which gathers together the community of brothers. There was already in that explanation the seeds of the Church as Family of God which was declared in 1995 as an "expression of the Church's nature particularly appropriate for Africa", Ecclecia in Africa, n. 63.
The MISSION of SECAM is "to promote its role as a sign and instrument of salvation and to build the Church as a Family of God in Africa", to preserve and foster communion, collaboration and joint action among all the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and the Islands. Accordingly, the Symposium, through the Episcopal Conferences promotes:
i. Propagation of Faith: Stressing on primary evangelization of those who have not yet received the message of Christ, i.e. in-depth and on-going evangelization of the peoples of Africa and the Islands.
ii. Human Development: i.e. the integral liberation of the human person, Good Governance and Justice and Peace issues.
iii. Ecumenism: i.e. the pursuit of fraternal relations and inter-religious dialogue with peoples of other faiths.
iv. Formation: i.e. the establishment of theological/pastoral institutions and research centers
v. Consultation: i.e. on the major problems facing the Family of God in Africa and in the world as a whole.
STRUCTURE OF SECAM
- Plenary Assembly
It is the highest body of SECAM and, as such, draws up the major policies and guidelines. It brings together the African Cardinals ad Patriarchs, the Presidents and the elected delegates of the member- Episcopal Conferences, the Diocesan Bishops and those equivalent to them in law but are not yet members of and juridically constituted Episcopal Conference, the members of the Standing Committee of SECAM, the African members of the Congregation of the Evangelisation of the Peoples and other members as stipulated in the Status of SECAM. The Plenary Assembly is held every three years.
- Standing Committee
The Standing Committee, consists of the President, two (2) Vice-Presidents (belonging to language groups different from the President's - English, French or Portuguese) and 10 members from each of the 10 Episcopal regions of SECAM. Each Regional Episcopal Conference is represented on the Standing Committee.
It has a three- year renewable term of office and its function is to direct the affairs of SECAM between Plenary Assemblies. It meets twice a year.
- The Presidential Council:
This Council is a restricted one, which consists of the President and the two Vice-Presidents of SECAM.
4. The Secretariat of SECAM
i) The Secretariat is headed by a Secretary General who is assisted by two deputies. Their main task is to carry out the decisions and policies of SECAM.
The following are the main departments and offices of SECAM:
i). Department of Evangelisation
This department is headed by the Second Vice-President of SECAM. The day-to-day work of it is carried out by the First Deputy Secretary General of SECAM.
The following offices fall under the department of Evangelisation:
a) The Catholic Biblical Centre for Africa and Madagascar (BICAM)which encourages and co-ordinates Biblical Apostolate on the continent.
b) Theological Committee (COMITHEOL): encourages and co-ordinates theological activity.
C) Pan-African Laity Co-ordination Board: organ of liaison, co-operation and joint action for the training and formation of the Laity.
- Department of Justice, Peace, Development and Good Governance.
The first vice-President of SECAM heads this department. The Second Deputy Secretary General handles the administrative work of the department. It has the
following offices:
- Justice, Peace and Development
- Good Governance- it studies and appraises the African political, diplomatic and social situations so as to enable SECAM take relevant positions.
- Association of Catholic Education for Africa and Madagascar (ASSECAM,)
- HIV/AIDS
- Meeting for African Collaboration (MAC): it is an organ of study and reflection between international religious congregations working in Africa and SECAM.
Other offices of SECAM are:
a) Communications office.
SECAM has a Communications office which is under the President and the Secretary General of SECAM. There is a Director of Communications whose role is to animate, co-ordinate and stimulate Social Communication activities on the regional and continental levels.
b)The Administrative office also fall under the Secretary General.
c) The Accounts Office is headed by the Treasurer of SECAM with a full-time Accountant for the day-to-day work of this office.
Official Languages: English, French, and Portuguese.
Funding: SECAM is funded mainly through the contributions of member -Episcopal Conferences with levies paid by each diocese.. Occasionally, SECAM receives subsidies and grants from the Evangelization of Peoples, Vatican City and various religious organizations and Partner Agencies throughout the world.
