The 2021 edition of the Ghana National Youth Council (GHANCYC) Meeting has commenced in Accra with an opening ceremony held at the St. Paul Catholic Seminary, Sowutuom.
The event chaired by the Director General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Kojo Essiem Mensah-Aprampah, Ph.D, a one time executive of the GHANCYC brought together delegates from the various Dioceses and Archdioceses as well as the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom in the country.
It is expected to have series of activities from Friday, September 3 to Sunday September 5.
The gathering is under the theme , “The Word of God: Christian formation for transformation in Ghana.”
In her opening address, Chairperson of GHANCYC, Miss Joyce Osei Bonsu said, “This year’s AGCM presents an opportunity to elect new leaders for the council which is in transition through the adoption of the New Age Policy for Youth leaders within the church.
She noted that delegates representing their Arch/Diocese/Vicariate and Movements are all new youth leaders between the ages of 18yrs to 30yrs, adding, “Out of these gallant young men and women, we will elect our National leaders to steer the affairs of GHANCYC for the next 2 years.”
In a message read on his behalf by the Vicar General, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie CSSp, urged the youth to adopt values and principles geared towards Christian formation and transformation in Ghana.
“There is a disconnect between worship/faith expression and public life for many Christians. There is more to be done to make knowledge acquisition of the Word of God a solid foundation of the teaching and learning of catechism in Ghana,” he said.
According to him, “there is more to be done to make the Word of God play a major role in Christian character formation during the formative years.”
“;I, therefore, hope that your consideration of the theme will go beyond listening to speeches,” the Archbishop of Accra added.
“That is, the national executive and delegates will find time to discuss and propose concrete steps by which the youth of various age-groups from the parish to the national levels could be systematically formed based on the Word of God, so that they can contribute significantly towards the transformation of Ghana,” he said.
For his part, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Most Rev. Henryk M. Jagodzinski in reference to the post synodal apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, reminded the youth of the special place they have in the eyes of God.
He added that not only are young people a blessing from God but they are also the now of the creator.
“You young people are the now of God,” He said.
Touching on the theme for the meeting, Most Rev. Jagodzinski said understanding the theme from the perspective of a Catholic is Crucial.
He urged the youth leaders to draw closer to God in all that they do, noting that the word of God is Jesus Christ hence drawing closer to the son of God is an important step to Christian formation and transformation.
“The theme is interesting and yet challenging. The word of God in the context of our Catholic Faith has rich meaning. The word of God is Jesus Christ” he said.
Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael Mensah who delivered the Keynote address at the ceremony said the subject of formation is conspicuously present in the Bible.
Making references to texts in the scripture, Fr. Mensah opined that formation takes various forms including religious, skills and intellectual.
For his part, the Catholic Bishop in charge of the youth and laity, Most. Rev. Gabriel Edoe Kumordji, SVD congratulated the youth wing for the successes chalked by the young people in the Church.
He noted that the youth are the agents of evangelisation while adding that the Catholic Church is home for young people.
The day is expected to end with an interaction with the Caritas Ghana E-Waste Team with discussions as well as discussions on self reliance, youth policy and strategic plan as well as World Youth Day Guidelines among others.
On Saturday September 4, the Kumasi Province will lead discussions on budget for the 2021-2022 period, election of executives, evaluation of 44th GHANCYC annual general council meeting among others.
On Sunday, September 5, the Cape Coast Province will lead a clean up exercise after the closing Mass as well as facilitate departure of the delegates.
The Ghana National Catholic Youth Council (GHANCYC) is a unit under the Department of Pastoral Ministry and Evangelisation of the National Catholic Secretariat. GHANCYC was established by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference in 1974 through the instrumentality of the late Cardinal Peter Perekuu Dery (Servant of God).
The Council’s mandate includes: train, coordinate, evaluate, report and serve as the mouthpiece of Catholic youth at National level.
The core aims of GHANCYC includes
to ensure total formation of the youth through the creation of a medium for the spiritual, moral, intellectual and social development of the youth.
It is to foster in the youth an awareness of their responsibility, rights and duties.
It is also to ensure effective means of interaction between the youth of the church and the church’s hierarchy, between the youth of the Catholic church and the youth of other Religious Organisation and youth organisations.
To protect the interest of the Catholic Youth in the Ghanaian society.
