Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Kigali (Agenzia Fides) – The 20th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) opened yesterday, July 31, in the Rwandan capital. The opening ceremony took place after Mass in the Regina Pacis parish church in Kigali.The official opening took place in the presence of His Eminence Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa (DRC) and President of SECAM, and the Prime Minister of Rwanda, Justin Nsengiyumva, representing the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.More than 200 delegates are participating in the plenary session, including 13 cardinals, 85 bishops, 72 priests, and dozens of religious and lay people, both men and women. Delegates are convened to assess the progress made since the 19th Assembly, held in 2022 in Accra, Ghana. Key agenda items include the presentation of SECAM’s long-term vision document for the period 2025-2050, based on 12 key pillars such as evangelization, family leadership, youth participation, care for creation, digital mission, and political responsibility; a pastoral reflection on the accompaniment of Catholics in complex cultural realities, including polygamous unions; and discussions on justice, peace, interreligious dialogue, and climate change.The Assembly will also present the Three-Year Strategic Plan (2025-2028) and initiate the renewal of SECAM offices. This is the first time since 2013, when it was held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that the SECAM Plenary Assembly has been held in a Great Lakes State, a region ravaged by war and instability for decades. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 1/8/2025)
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