Africa Bishops Propose “Digital Missionaries” to Boost Church Communications

Members of the Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS), an initiative of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), are proposing formation that targets “digital missionaries” in academic institutions to boost communications on the continent.

Africa Bishops

Speaking at the CEPACS November 18-21 Golden Jubilee celebrations that were held in Nigeria’s Archdiocese of Lagos, Bishop Emannuel Adetoyese Badejo who heads the entity that brings together Catholic Bishops at the helm of communication in the various conferences in Africa and its Islands underscored the need to revitalize the entity by bringing on board young Catholics on the continent who are living as “digital missionaries”.

The Bishop of Nigeria’s Oyo Diocese expressed enthusiasm for the new opportunities that exist for CEPACS, including, “building a new alliance with the young people to evangelize contemporary digital media space for creating communion and community.”

In his Monday, November 20 presentation on the Golden Jubilee theme, “CEPACS at 50: History, Goals, Programs, Challenges and Opportunities in the Light of the Synod”, Bishop Badejo made reference to the Synod on Synodality assembly’s call for the formation of “digital missionaries.”

The assembly’s synthesis report provides guidelines for engagement with the digital space, which “can surely boost the building of a more just and fraternal world.”

On digital missionaries, the synthesis report says, “We cannot evangelize digital culture without first understanding it. Young people, and among them, seminarians, young priests, and young consecrated men and women, who often have profound and direct experience of it, are best suited to carry out the Church’s mission in the digital environment, as well as to accompany the rest of the community, including pastors, in becoming more familiar with its dynamics.”

In his presentation, the President of CEPACS also proposed the reconnection of  academic institutions of communication with the apostolate of CEPACS, as well as “providing opportunity and resources for the formation and networking of pastoral agents (even digital missionaries) in Communication.”

Established by SECAM in 1973, CEPACS has a membership of eight Bishops, who chair the Commission of Social Communications in the eight regional conferences of SECAM.

The entity functions mainly through the assistance of media experts and regional coordinators, who oversee Commissions of Social Communications in their respective regional associations of Catholic Bishops in Africa and its Islands.

The eight regional associations of SECAM include the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC), the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa Region (ACERAC), 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 Indian Ocean (CEDOI), and the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA).

CEPACS has distinguished itself in various ways, including coordination of the various regional conferences of SECAM, broadcasting, screening for scholarships, as well as training of Catholic communicators.

One of the stronger periods of CEPACS was when it featured prominently in the First Synod of Bishops for Africa (10 April – 8 May 1994), providing communications and media support for the Bishops before, during and after that historic synod.

CEPACS has also signed an agreement with APO Group, a leading pan African communications consultancy and press release distribution service.