President of the National Union of Ghana Catholic Diocesan Priests’ Associations (NUGCDPA), Fr. Thaddeus Kuusah has voiced out that though the COVID-19 pandemic had, undoubtedly, posed a great challenge to the Church and continues to challenge the life of the Church in several ways, it has helped the Church explore more into the use of social communications.
“As an opportunity, the COVID-19 Pandemic has helped the Church in putting into action par excellence, the decree on Social Communication of the Second Vatican Council, “Inter Mirifica”, one of the very first two documents promulgated by the Second Vatican Council on December 4, 1963; the other being “Sacrosantum Concillium” on Liturgy,” he said.
In a goodwill message on behalf of NUGCDPA at the opening of the 2021 Plenary Assembly of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Wa on November 8, Fr. Kuusah indicated that through the Pandemic, “we have found more ways and means of building up the spiritual life of the Church, the Family of God, through the use of Social Communications.”
Fr. Thaddeus Kuusah
The Pandemic, he noted, has made “us understand the urgency and importance of setting up a National Catholic Television Station and other agencies of evangelisation.”
He encouraged more Archdioceses and Dioceses to get involved in Radio and Television Station Programmes, which he said, had helped explore the use of Social Media for evangelization.
Dilating on the negative impact of the pandemic on the Church, he said “The greatest challenge was the suspension of the communal celebration of the Holy Mass for some weeks which affected last year’s Easter.”
According to Fr. Kuusah, “the inability of the Church to meet for a number of Sundays and the fear of contracting COVID-19 continue to negatively affect the fraternity and communion that must exist among us as the Body of the Christ.”
These notwithstanding, he said, “We cannot allow COVID-19 to destroy the life of the Church. Throughout the history of the Church, whenever there were great challenges and problems, the Holy Spirit led the Church to rise up in a more powerful fashion.”
“As a Church, we cannot allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by this pandemic as we look on,” he stated, adding, “It must rather prompt in us that urgent desire to be dynamic and innovative. We are convinced as priests that this Pandemic has more opportunities for us than we have already seen.”
We your priests are extremely excited about the theme you have chosen for your Plenary Assembly and we are hopeful that your deliberations would breathe new life into the Church, as it would help us to explore more amazing opportunities to deepen our communion and fraternity in the midst of this Pandemic,” the NUGCDPA President averred.
Meanwhile, in a keynote address at the opening ceremony November 8, the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Most Rev. Philip Naameh, said since the outbreak of Covid-19 with its attendant restrictions, many Churches have had to turn to technology to fill the void that was created.
In Ghana, he stated, “Unfortunately, the Church was caught wrong-footed, not having a television or radio station of its own. Neither did it have a coordinated strategy for engagement on social media.”
He said the need for this service has thus become more than urgent, noting, “For many young people accessing religious content through on-line internet streaming services has become the preference.”
The Archbishop observed that some parishes have adopted on-line meeting platforms for the study of catechism and children’s services, adding, the same has been used for teachings, retreats, prayer meetings and conferences.
“The advantage has been the opportunity to reach church members, especially the sick and the elderly. Inability to be physically present should no longer be an obstacle to participation in the life of the parish community,” he indicated.
According to the GCBC President, “The Covid-19 has presented the Church in Ghana with an excellent opportunity to harness this technology as an effective pastoral tool for reaching out to her faithful.”
