The Most Rev. Philip Naameh, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has bemoaned the increasing rate of indiscipline and immorality among young people in the West African country of Ghana.
“There is also high level of indiscipline and immorality among the youth. Today, the principle of ‘the end justifies the means’ has taken a grip on some Ghanaians who think it does not matter how one gets what he or she wants,” he said in a keynote address at the opening of the 2022 Plenary Assembly of the Bishops at Donkorkrom in the Afram Plains.
According to him, the high rate is buttressed by the ritual killings of innocent people in Wa in the Upper West Region, Mankessim and Kasoa in the Central Region and other parts of the country.
Archbishop Naameh who is the Metropolitan of the Tamale Archdiocese lamented that there were also the scandalous examination leakages that have been reported in recent times involving JHS, SHS, Tertiary and even recently the Law School.
“The virtue of honesty seems to be forgotten especially by the younger generation,” he lamented
The theme for the ongoing 2022 Plenary Assembly at Donkorkrom in the Donkorkrom Vicariate is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission in the Light of the New Evangelization in Ghana”.
The theme is focused on helping all baptised members of the Church in Ghana to walk together, to listen more and to deepen participation in discerning new paths and new ways of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ in our context. Evangelization is the collective responsibility of all Christ’s faithful.
Archbishop Naameh in his keynote address touched on a range of challenges currently bedeviling the nation including the uncontrollable appetite for wealth by Christians, ethnic tensions among Christians, corruption, illegal mining activities and politics in Ghana has also split our members on partisan lines.
According to the GCBC president, Ghana is rated as profoundly religious nation but noted that the Christian population, in particular, had been experiencing an increase over the years.
“Most of the television stations, radio stations and social media are filled with religious activities and church services. Also, prayers are said at every national event in the country. Amidst all this show of religiosity, coupled with the fact that our Sunday and other church services are well patronized, we still witness an increasing attitude of indifference to the message of Christ among our people, he noted.
He indicated that the witness to the Gospel message had diminished, even the few who want to show their faith sometimes lack the courage to do so. This situation of Ghana, he stated presents a complex challenge, a roadblock to the evangelizing mission of the Church. Our country is experiencing a growing shift away from the Gospel message in the lives of people.
Archbishop Naameh expressed worry that “Despite the increasing number in the religious population in the country, the changes being experienced in the cultural, political, social, and economic situations in Ghana present a serious challenge to Christians.”
“We also observe that some of our members still patronise the services of witch doctors for solutions to their problems,” he added, stating, “Poverty and hardship are on the increase despite the interventions the Church has made to the economic life of the people.”
He lamented that ethnic tensions were still being experienced within some Christian communities, emphasizing, “We are confronted in the news with the uncontrollable appetite for wealth by Christians, particularly the youth who will go any length to ensure that they make money.”
“There is also a widening gap between the rich and the poor. We find children on our streets begging for alms,” Archbishop Naameh said.
On corruption, he indicated that it was in every sector of the economy and there was no doubt that “some of the people involved in these corrupt practices may be Catholics or Christians of other denominations.”
Those who are to check these things are also corrupt, therefore those involved are not prosecuted, he stated.
