Catholic bishops urge media professionals to deepen collaboration with the church

…Marks 50th anniversary of CEPACS

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has called on media professionals in Nigeria to deepen collaboration with the church towards strengthening social communications across Africa.

“CEPACS also promotes the Christian dimension in the use of all media in society and in evangelisation, which includes the promotion of the whole person and tries to establish good relationship with media professionals, and organisations within and outside of Africa,” Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, bishop of Oyo Diocese and President, CEPACS, said during a press conference on Friday 17, November, 2023.

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According to Badejo, the Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS) assembly is an opportunity for evaluation and stock-taking on the work carried out by CEPACS in the last 50 years.

He disclosed that the CEPACS celebration assembly will begin with a Holy Mass at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos on Sunday, November 19 by 10am and continue at the Lumen Christi Television Premises, Lekki Lagos on Monday 20 November, 2023 by 8.30am.

The theme of the Golden Jubilee celebration and assembly is: ‘CEPACS at 50: Promoting A Synodal Church in Africa Through Social Communication’.

CEPACS is the French acronym for: Comité Episcopal Panafricain Pour les Communications Sociales, established in 1973, the Bishops of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

He said CEPACS functions as a committee of Bishops who oversee the communication offices of the 8 regions into which the church in Africa is configured under Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

Alfred Adewale Martin, the Archbishop of Lagos, is hosting the 50th celebration and assembly of the Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS), on behalf of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and other prelates and priests from across Africa.

He said that the symposium will help propose new communications strategies for evangelization and update church structures and policies for the future.

“It will also align the work of CEPACS with the new synodal process which calls for a church that listens to all its members and components and gives everybody, especially those at the margins an opportunity to express themselves and participate more in the life of the church,” Badejo said.

He said further that in synodality, everybody is carried along and no one is deliberately left behind in the scheme of things. “Such a noble vision obviously has a lot to offer modern society as well. Communication is an indispensable part of synodality and so, the vision for founding CEPACS, needs to be optimised and brought into the present and future digital age,” Badejo said.

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Rafael Simbine Junior, secretary general, SECAM, said the church has done a lot through CEPACS. However, there are still lots more to do through CEPACS. According to him, it is the responsibility of the church to deepen CEPACS activities heading into the next 50 years; “To make CEPACS known to the world. Do whatever needs to be done to make CEPACS great”.