The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) is an episcopal conference

Episcopal Conference

In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory...

 consisting of all the bishops

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 of the Roman

Roman Catholic (term)

The term Roman Catholic appeared in the English language at the beginning of the 17th century, to differentiate specific groups of Christians in communion with the Pope from others; comparable terms in other languages already existed...

 Catholic Church in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

, and Swaziland

Swaziland

Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...

, and their equivalents under canon law

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

 (apostolic vicars, apostolic administrator

Apostolic Administrator

An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...

s, etc). It is a collegial body approved by the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 and has as its particular aim:

to provide the bishops of the territories mentioned above with facilities for consultation and united action in such matters of common interest to the Church as consultation and co-operation with other hierarchies; the fostering of priestly and religious vocations; the doctrinal, apostolic and pastoral formation of the clergy, religious and laity; the promotion of missionary activity, catechetics, liturgy, lay apostolate, ecumenism, development, justice and reconciliation, social welfare, schools, hospitals, the apostolate of the press, radio, television, and other means of social communication; and any other necessary activity.

In recent times, the Conference's application of the revision of the English translation of the Mass liturgy has been criticized as premature.

Organization

The conference is led by a president and two vice presidents, each elected by an absolute majority of the members for three year terms. The members also elect chairmen and vice-chairmen for the departments of the conference. All office holders must be diocesean ordinaries

Ordinary

In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...

; coadjutor bishop

Coadjutor bishop

A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...

s, auxiliary bishop

Auxiliary bishop

An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...

s, and bishops emeriti

Emeritus

Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...

 may not be elected. The president, vice presidents, department chairmen, and any Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

s who do not hold a conference office form an administrative board which coordinates the conference's activities between its plenary sessions.

The Conference mandates a Secretariat to Coordinate Conference activities. The Secretariate is made up of Departments (such as the Justice and Peace department), Offices (such as the AIDS Office) and Associate Bodies (such as the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI). Its official newspaper is The Southern Cross.

Presidents

President	Period
Archbishop Denis Hurley	1952-1961
Archbishop (later Cardinal) Owen McCann Owen McCann Owen McCann , was a South African cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Archbishop of Cape Town from 1951 to 1984, he was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965.-Biography:...	1961-1974
Archbishop Joseph Fitzgerald	1974-1981
Archbishop Denis Hurley	1981-1987
Bishop Reginald Orsmond	1987-1988
Bishop (later Archbishop) Wilfrid Napier Wilfrid Napier Wilfrid Fox Napier, OFM is a South African cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Durban, South Africa.-Biography:...	1988-1994
Bishop Louis Ndlovu	1994-2003
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier Wilfrid Napier Wilfrid Fox Napier, OFM is a South African cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Durban, South Africa.-Biography:...	2003-2006
Archbishop Buti Tlhagale	2007 -

External links

• Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference official website
• SACBC webpage. GCatholic website