Editorial No. 2/2026: SECAM-AU : A Strategic Partnership for Africa’s Future

SECAM-AU : A Strategic Partnership for Africa’s Future (SECAM News No. 2/2026)

The signing on February 13, 2026, in Addis Ababa of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and the African Union marks a symbolic and strategic turning point for the future of the continent. In his speech, His Eminence Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo Besungu, President of SECAM, forcefully reiterated that the African renaissance cannot be the work of a single actor.

Beyond protocol, it is a vision of Africa that is being affirmed: an Africa capable of uniting its political institutions, social forces and spiritual resources to respond to the challenges of our time. By recognising the contribution of faith-based actors, the African Union confirms its commitment to inclusive governance, faithful to its Constitutive Act and its ideal of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent.

The biblical reference to the Good Samaritan, central to Cardinal Ambongo’s speech, illuminates the scope of this partnership. Africa, often scarred by the aftermath of history and contemporary injustices, can only be lifted up by a chain of solidarity and by the contributions of each and every one of us.

This MoU, which updates the 2015 agreement, opens up decisive areas of cooperation: human rights, peace and social cohesion, economic justice, protection of creation and integral human development. These are all priorities that resonate with Agenda 2063 and with the concrete action of the Church on the ground, through its schools, hospitals and Justice and Peace commissions.

The tribute paid to Bankole Adeoye, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, and the technical teams, finally highlights an often-forgotten truth: diplomacy for the common good is based on the discreet and persevering work of women and men of good will.

By describing Africa as a ‘continent of hope’, Pope Francis invited us to believe in its capacity for renewal. This Memorandum of Understanding is a concrete expression of this. Provided that it is imbued with a spirit of complementarity and mutual respect, it can become a true instrument of life, for ‘the whole person and for all people’.

Rev. Father Rafael Simbine Junior,

Secretary General of SECAM