The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar or SECAM (
French: Symposium des Conférences Épiscopales d'Afrique et de Madagascar) is an agency of the
Catholic Church that includes the bishops of
Africa and
Madagascar.
History
The SECAM was born, on the occasion of the
Second Vatican Council, to express the will of the African bishops to speak and act together, overcoming the language difference, historical and cultural. The project, submitted to the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, was approved in 1968. The Symposium was convened for the first time during the visit of
PopePaul VI to
Uganda in 1969.
Organization
SECAM includes a presidential council, a General Secretariat, and special committees: the committee on doctrinal and pastoral, social and legal committee, the Committee on Finance and Administration, the Committee for African Affairs, the union of African collaboration.
Regional Episcopal Conference of West African francophone (Episcopal Conférence Régionale de l'Afrique de l'Ouest Francophone, CERAO)
Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa, IMBISA)
The inter-regional or national conferences of bishops:
Regional Bishops' Conference of North Africa (Regional Episcopal Conference de l'Afrique du Nord, CERNA)
Conference of Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa (Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, "SACBC)
Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (Conferencia Episcopal de Angola and São Tomé, CEAST)
Episcopal Conference of Burkina-Niger (Episcopal Conférence du Burkina and Niger);
Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi (Conférence des Bishop's catholiques du Burundi, CECA.B.)
National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (Episcopal Conférence Nationale du Cameroun, CENC):
Central Conference of Bishops (Episcopal Conference Centrafricaine, CZECH)
Episcopal Conference of Chad, (Episcopal Conference du Tchad)
Episcopal Conference of Congo (Episcopal Conférence du Congo)
Episcopal Conference of Zaire (Episcopal Conférence du Zaire, CEZ)
Episcopal Conference of Côte d'Ivoire (Episcopal Conference of Côte d'Ivoire)
Episcopal Conference of Equatorial Guinea (Guinea Ecuatorial de Episcopal Conference)
Episcopal Conference of Ethiopia (South African Episcopal Conference)
Episcopal Conference of Gabon (Episcopal Conférence du Gabon)
Inter-territorial Conference of Catholic Bishops of Gambia and Sierra Leone (Inter-Territorial Catholic Bishops' Conference of The Gambia and Sierra Leone, ITCABIC)
Conference of Bishops of Ghana (Ghana Bishops' Conference)
Episcopal Conference of Guinea (Episcopal Conference de la Guinée)
Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB)
Conference of Catholic Bishops of Lesotho (Lesotho Catholic Bishops' Conference)