Catholic Bishops of Ghana meet in an all-inclusive pastoral conference

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) is currently meeting in Accra, Ghana in a Plenary Assembly that has brought together all Bishops and Archbishops of Ghana, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana and the Catholic faithful to deliberate on the welfare and pastoral challenges facing the Church in Ghana. The Bishops hope that eventually a pastoral plan and approach will emerge as a result of this conference. This is necessary for the Church as it seeks to adopt strategies to help it handle the many challenges faced by families in the context of the country and Africa.

The all-inclusive-conference is being held under the theme: “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of the New Evangelisation.” This is a particularly important gathering because it comes on the heels of the just-ended Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family held in Rome, recently. During the synod, the Bishops discussed the meaning of family, its values, the challenges of marriage and family life as well as the Church’s response to issues of family and marriage in contemporary society.

Presenting the purpose of the conference, the Bishop of the Konongo-Mampong Diocese in the Ashanti Region, Most Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu, who is the President of the GCBC said that the gathering would help the Bishops be better informed on the views of the Catholic faithful with regard to issues of dissolubility of marriage, the prohibition on the use of artificial contraceptives, cohabitation, divorce and re-marriage. He said the conference would also examine the meaning of the family as the vital building block of society and the ecclesiastical community. Another key issue for discussion is the role of the family as the sanctuary where life is born, nurtured and welcomed as a gift.

 “It is important and urgent as part of our Christian duty, that we engage in a more careful pastoral reflection on the family to let the right understanding of it influence whatever decisions we take regarding the family,” Archbishop  Osei-Bonsu added.

The Archbishop further informed the gathering that the Bishops of Ghana in July paid a courtesy call on Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Minister of Education to discuss issues relating to education with regard to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Education Partnership between the State and Faith-Based Organisations.

Most Rev Osei-Bonsu also spoke about the recently launched Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office that began operations last year in 2013. He said this office would facilitate contact and dialogue between the Church on one hand and the Government and law makers on the other. Through this office, they Church hopes to contribute to public policy formulation in favour of the common good.

Representatives from the Christian Council of Ghana, Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ga Traditional Council, National Catholic Laity Council, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council gave fraternal messages in support of a successful conference.

Three Emeriti Archbishops are also attending the conference.

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