AMECEA PLENARY OF BISHOPS SET TO BEGIN IN MALAWI ON WEDNESDAY

The 18th Plenary Assembly of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) set to kick off in Lilongwe (Malawi) next Wednesday, July 16th , will bring together more than 150 Catholic Bishops.

This was confirmed by the AMECEA Secretary General, Father Ferdinand Lugonzo, in an exclusive interview with CANAA in Nairobi on Tuesday.

“We are happy that apart from Eritrea, all the other conferences are represented, and we have more than 150 bishops attending the plenary,” Father Lugonzo told CANAA on the eve of his departure for Malawi.

He revealed that the Plenary will have two parts, describing the first as the “study session” consisting of presentation of topics around the main theme of the plenary and the second as “the business session where the bishops have, according to the [AMECEA] statutes, the normal elections for office bearers and get reports from AMECEA institutions.”

The theme of the plenary is: “New evangelization through true conversion and witness to Christian faith.”

“The beauty of this plenary assembly is that there is a lot of time for discussion and sharing. The topics will be presented in the morning sessions and for the afternoons, we have given time for delegates to share experiences, good practices, and report back to the plenary so that these discussions will also guide the resolutions that will be taken,” Father Lugonzo observed.

He further highlighted the topics to be covered during the study session, adding that the study session will take the first four days.

These topics will include the early missionary work of evangelization in terms of challenges faced and success stories; the context of evangelization today; new evangelization as an opportunity for better Christianity in Eastern Africa with focus on family life and Small Christian Communities; how houses of formation can contribute to the process of new evangelization; the role of the institutions of learning in the work of evangelization, with particular focus on the role of chaplaincies; and how new evangelization can help deepen liturgical celebrations, especially the Eucharist, and how these celebrations can enhance conversion and the witness to Christian faith.

“Having done our preparations in collaboration with the hosting conference, we don’t anticipate major challenges. All the logistics are in place,” Father Lugonzo confirmed, adding, “We may not have achieved our target in terms of fundraising, but we believe that the help we have received and the good will of the people in Malawi will make us go through the Plenary.”

The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has hosted the AMECEA Plenary twice in the past, first in 1979 and then in 1995.

“The Plenary is not just any other meeting for the bishops. It is a defining moment in the life of the Church in Eastern Africa,” Father Lugonzo concluded, asking all to pray for the success of the plenary and later help in implementing the resolutions from this Plenary Assembly.