Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
About 80 bishops and renowned communication specialists across the world are expected to storm Lagos to grace the 50 years anniversary of Episcopal Committee for Social Communications of Catholic Church (CEPACS) scheduled to hold between November 18 and 24.
The President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications of Catholic Church, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, said this in a statement he made available to newsmen on Friday.
Badejo who also doubles as the Bishop of Oyo Diocese in Nigeria, said that the 50 years celebration of CEPACS which is the Bishops Communications Committee of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) would purely be devoted to re-energising the group so that it could continue to deliver on its mandate in conformity with the modern trends.
“CEPACS was established 50 years ago at Ibadan in 1973 by the Bishops of SECAM during their meeting, in collaboration with what was then the Pontifical Council for Social Communications of the Vatican.
“CEPACS has had bright and not so bright moments. Re-energizing CEPACS to now respond to the current needs of the Church is the purpose of its golden jubilee assembly coming up in Lagos Nigeria especially in this period of Synodality in the catholic Church”.
“The theme of the assembly will be CEPACS at 50: ‘Towards Promoting a Synodal Church in Africa Through Social Communications’. It is possible in this manner because of the providential convergence of purpose and personnel with the African Communication Committee for the ongoing Synod on Synodality.
“I hope that the interest and enthusiasm thus generated will be sustained long after the celebration”, the Bishop stated in the statement.
While noting that the Golden Jubilee celebration would be virtually accessible to everyone around the world, Badejo said the President of SECAM, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo of Kinshasa and other members of the Standing Committee of SECAM would grace the occasion, while the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Dr Paolo Ruffini will give the keynote address.
“About 80 Bishops and Communications experts from all over Africa and beyond, including many from Nigeria will converge at the Archdiocese of Lagos for this event
“Others expected at the Golden Jubilee are Chairmen from the eight regions into which the Church in Africa is configured, heads and officers of various communications and media outfits and schools in Africa, including local and expatriate media dignitaries of the digital space from the Vatican and other parts of the world”, the statement submitted.
CEPACS is an arm of the Catholic Church which handles all matters concerning the church’s activities in the realm of media in Africa and Madagascar – press, radio, television, video, traditional, group media, new forms of media among others