Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides)- From 4 to 7 February the Standing Committee of SCEAM, Symposium of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Africa and Madagascar, will meet in Johannesburg, South Africa, for its first assembly of 2008.
Matters for discussion include a report on a joint Seminar of SCEAM and Council of European Bishops' Conference held in Cape Coast, Ghana, 13 - 20 November 2007 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in west Africa (see Fides 7 and 21 November 2007) and preparations for the second Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa in 2009.
After the Standing Committee meeting SCEAM Bishops and personnel will participate in an international conference also in Johannesburg 8 - 10 February organised by the German Bishops' charity agency MISEREOR. Bishops from Germany, Latin America, Asia and Oceania will also take part.
SCEAM chairman, Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, will speak on “Justice for the poor in Africa. Experiences and challenges”, to illustrate SCEAM initiatives to promote good governance, economic development, social justice and peace in Africa.
The MISEREOR conference will conclude on Sunday 10 February with Mass celebrated in Regina Mundi church in Soweto. It was in this church that apartheid regime police forces committed terrible violence against student protesters. The church was chosen for the Mass, to be broadcast on German television, to recall MISEREOR's activity to oppose apartheid.
A major MISEREOR programme in Africa, promotes agricultural development in Ivory Coast, supporting the activity of INADES (Institut d’Afrique de l’Economie et le Développement Social), which operates in about ten African countries to improve living conditions of farmers. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 5/2/2008 righe 25 parole 319)
