The Accra Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, during the celebration of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) Day gathered at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka to observe the day with prayers and a pilgrimage through the Holy Door.
The celebration, under the theme, “Catholic Women, let us ignite our faith, fuel our passions and unleash our potentials for unity and peace”, brought together all Catholic women associations and organizations from various parishes within the archdiocese of Accra.
In an address, Mrs. Mary Baaffour Ashun, President of the Accra Archdiocese Council of Catholic Women, nvited all women in the deaneries under the Accra Archdiocese to unite and establish women councils in their various parishes in order to reach out to each other.
She said, “In my speech during last year I hinted that to realize our mandate of reaching out to every woman in the church, we form committees for each deanery to seek to its implementation of the formation of the councils at the parish level so that we can have the deanery council I can report that so far we have only Tema and Madina deaneries who have been able to have a number of councils for the parish level. For the remaining six, do not feel discouraged but press on”
Mrs. Ashun in her address commended the women for their contributions towards the success of the Archbishop Kwofie Summer Camp and the renovation of the Archdiocesan Youth Center kitchen in Lashibi.
“This gesture took some burden out of the resources of the secretariat of the archdiocese, they were really appreciated. I take this opportunity to render our deepest appreciation to the various parishes who were able to contribute to this kind gesture”, she noted.
Mrs. Ashun also called on all women in the Accra Archdiocese to have mutual respect for each other as they prepare for an election of new leaders to run affairs of the Women Council.
“We are a team. Teamwork brings understanding, transparency, peace, unity, love and above all these, let us have mutual respect for one another”
Rev. Fr. Donatus Pallu, Parish Priest of St. Maurice Catholic Church, La, in a reflection on the theme, urged the women to have the desire to ignite their faith through prayer.
He said, “How do you ignite that faith? How do you put it into flame? The first thing is that you must have the desire, something that you’re longing for it. If you don’t yearn for it you will not get it”.
While speaking, Fr. Donatus noted that as Catholic women, they must “do more so that the flame will not go out” by attending spiritual programs in order to fuel their passions.
To unleash their potentials, Fr. Donatus encouraged them to be agents of peace and unity in the church.
“Women, you are supposed to be agents of peace and unity… God can use for greatness but the devil can use you for distraction so know where you stand”
Giving a talk on the theme, Mrs. Rita Amivi Wurth- Seddoh, Secretary of the Accra Archdiocesan Women’s Council noted that women only understand each other and so there is a need for them to come together and study the bible to achieve unity and peace.
“When women call for prayers let’s come because we are the only ones who can truly understand ourselves, no one else can appreciate the pain we go through so if there is any help that will come for us it has to come from us”
Mrs. Rita also challenged the women to identify their passions in order to make a difference in their various parishes.
“The passion that we have should give us fulfillment of every aspect of our lives… Identify your passion and do what you can to make a difference in your parish”
By: Veronica Amenya
