The Members of the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious- Ghana (CMSR-GH), an umbrella body of Major Superiors of Men and Women Religious Congregations of the Catholic Church in Ghana have called on leaders to give others the opportunity to make their opinions known and make the efforts to listen to them
“We humbly request that wherever we find ourselves we learn to give others the chance to opine their opinions as we listen reflectively and empathically with no prejudices; for it is in listening that we can make good decisions and the best of choices which will in the long run improve our lives and our nation,” they said in a Communique after their 2nd Annual Conference in Wa.
The Communique signed by the President of the Conference, Very Rev. Fr. Paul Saa-Dade Ennin, SMA, called to attention of leaders and Ghanaians in general the importance of listening, discernment and authority.
“We bring to the attention of our leaders (civil, religious and traditional) and the entire citizenry the importance of listening, discernment and authority,” the Communique said, adding, ” We are all leaders in one way or another and hence may exercise some amount of authority whether young or old at home or outside of home, among our siblings, peers, nuclear or extended family.”
It noted, “We should also note that listening enhances understanding and eases the process of forgiveness and later reconciliation.”
Below is the Full Communique
A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY THE CONFERENCE OF MAJOR SUPERIORS OF RELIGIOUS, GHANA (CMSR-GH) AT THE END OF ITS SECOND ANNUAL CONFERENCE HELD AT IN-SERVICE TRAINING CENTRE WA, IN THE UPPER WEST REGION OF GHANA, OCTOBER 10-13, 2023
- GREETINGS
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ” be with you all. (Eph 1:2)
- PREAMBLE
We the Members of the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious- Ghana (CMSR-GH), held our second meeting for the year 2023 at the In-Service Training Centre, Wa in the Upper West Region of Ghana, from 10th – 13th October 2023.
Uniting with the whole Church in Rome at this time, we too prayerfully reflected on the theme, “The synodal path and Community Living: Listening, Discernment and Authority”. As a follow-up on Pope Francis’ call on Synod, for a Synodal Church Communion, Participation, Mission”. we present this communique based on our reflection and sharing with our brothers and sisters in the consecrated life, the Catholic faithful and all people of goodwill.
- The Conference of Major Superiors of Religious – Ghana (CMSR-GH)
The CMSR-GH is the umbrella body of Major Superiors of Men and Women Religious Congregations of the Catholic Church in Ghana. The Religious are by identity, men and women who, obedient to the Father’s call and the prompting of the Holy Spirit have chosen this special way of following Christ to devote themselves to Him with an “undivided heart “(1 Cor 7: 34). Like the Apostles, they too have left everything behind to be with Christ and to put themselves, as He did, at the service of God and their brothers and sisters. In this way, “through the many charisms of spiritual and apostolic life bestowed on them by the Holy Spirit. They help make the mystery and mission of the Church shine forth, and in doing so contribute to the renewal of society”. (Vita Consecrata, the post-apostolic exhortation of the Holy Father John Paul II, March 25, 1996, No. 1).
In Ghana, the Religious are involved in most of the social intervention projects of the Catholic Church. We are pioneers of the Catholic Church in Ghana and at the heart of the various Catholic Ministries in the country in the areas of education, health, pastoral, ministering to the poor and marginalised in society, justice and peace and integrity of creation issues, women empowerment, girl-child education, safe child advocacy and fight against human trafficking, and many others. As Religious, the life we live in the body, we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us. (cf. Gal. 2:20).
- SYNODAL PATH
Since October 2021, the entire Catholic Church has been called to reflect on “journeying together.” This is the core of the theme for the XVI Synod of Bishops, “Synod on Synodality: Communion, Participation and Mission.” The Pope has invited the entire Church to get involved in the Synod from the grassroots to the pinnacle of the Church. Following the challenges facing us concerning listening, discernment and authority, we the Major Superiors deliberated on the theme,” Synodal path and community living: Listening Discernment and authority” and we share some of the fruits of our deliberations with you. Synodality is a way of “journeying together” that involves speaking and listening to one another and the Holy Spirit to find a path forward in addressing the issues facing the Church in our day as we work to carry out our mission of making known the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ We are all in the same boat and the Holy Spirit is the captain of the boat leading us so there is the necessity of Listening in humility and respect to all and sundry.
- CONSECRATED PEOPLE
We too live and understand community life, and appreciate its power to witness meanwhile we do not underestimate the challenges of living together in a community. We believe that the call of Our Holy Father comes to entrench our already chosen way of life. As we journey together on the Synodal path, we enliven our brothers and sisters not to forget to put our trust in God and acknowledge that our value lies in God and not in what we do nor is it in how people see us. If we live together for the love of God and our neighbour, without fear or favour we are spared to understand and accept that others have weaknesses just as we do so that we may be tolerant with each other as we cross paths and journey on.
- BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE
We recognise and express our profound gratitude to our Bishops who are the successors of the Apostles and Shepherds of the Synodal journey. We acknowledge your support and the collaboration that exists between us. We follow in your steps in coming together and in your example of working together and unity despite differences you may have. We pledge our support to companions on the Synodal journey and in the renewal of the Church.
- CATHOLIC FAITHFUL
We stand in solidarity with you in our world of higher technological advancement, where it is very easy to chance upon information and pictures that do not tell the full story. Together with you, we all are easily tempted to jump to conclusions and judge others hastily. We wish to borrow the words of our dear sister and mother; Saint Mother Theresa, “if you judge, you have no time to love. Let us consequently make the effort to look beyond the supposed wrongs of others. We encourage ourselves and all of you, our faithful brothers and sisters to seek the bigger picture behind the captured scene before we rush into spreading or passing on (forwarding) information on the various social media platforms. How good and pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity… (Psalm 113). We believe that it will be much more beautiful and enriching when we are all living together alive not killing each other emotionally and spiritually by what we put out there in the name of technology and fun.
- NATIONAL LEADERS AND POPULACE
We bring to the attention of our leaders (civil, religious and traditional) and the entire citizenry the importance of listening, discernment and authority. We are all leaders in one way or another and hence may exercise some amount of authority whether young or old at home or outside of home, among our siblings, peers, nuclear or extended family. We humbly request that wherever we find ourselves we learn to give others the chance to opine their opinions as we listen reflectively and empathically with no prejudices; for it is in listening that we can make good decisions and the best of choices which will in the long run improve our lives and our nation. We should also note that listening enhances understanding and eases the process of forgiveness and later reconciliation.
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all who are companions on the journey with us. To the Apostolic Nuncio His Excellency, Most Rev. Henryk Mieczyslaw Jagodzinski for his input and for being there for us; his presence always inspires us.
We say thank you to Monsignor Cornelius Banobayire, the administrator of the Diocese of Wa for his presence and challenging message at the Conference. We thank Sr. Angela Mariette, IHM our able facilitator for her exultation on the theme, we are forever grateful. We are grateful to Conrad Hilton Foundation, USA, for all your support and show of love. May the Lord bless you all. It has been a great pleasure for us to have a Conference who have been so supportive, loving,
encouraging and spurring one another on-, we are grateful to you all. May the Holy Spirit our guide and light continue to journey with us and bring all our good intentions to a successful end.
