As the national censuses over the past few decades in Ghana show a downward trend of the percentage of Catholics in the country, the Prelate of Ghana’s Accra Archdiocese says the situation should be a wake-up call for all Catholics in the West African country.
This call, the Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp said was especially to all newly confirmed or old enough to be confirmed, to heed the command of Christ: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
“Whereas not all can be full-time missionaries, we can all undertake the project of a soul for Christ every year,” he said in a Lenten Pastoral Letter to the people of God of Archdiocese of Ghana’s Capital City.
“Let us each endeavour to lead a soul to Christ every year,” he added in the March 2 Pastoral Letter.
In spite of the call by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) on all Catholics to fully participate in the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC), there is a 5.1% decline in Catholic population in Ghana within a matter of 20 years.
Ghana’s 2010 Population Census puts Catholic population at 13.1 percent, a drop of 2 percent from the previous 15.1 percent in 2000.
However, the 2021 population and housing census in Ghana revealed that Catholic population has dropped to 10%, as Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians were the largest religious group in Ghana, reaching a share of 31.6 percent. This translated into over 9.7 million of the country’s population, an increase compared to the 2010 census year.
The Islamic region followed with a nation-wide coverage of nearly 20 percent. Moreover, only 1.1 percent of the country’s population had no religion, which was a decrease from the 5.3 percent in the previous census year.
“It is disturbing that the Catholic population is going down, therefore, let us use the forty days of Lent to prepare and equip ourselves to become fishers of souls for Christ ,” Archbishop Kwofie urged.
In the first place, the Accra prelate said, “this preparation entails the Lenten acts of personal renewal which will make our witnessing credible” and equipping ourselves also requires that we intensify our reading and study of the Word of God.”
The Spiritan Archbishop added: “As a fisherman uses a net to catch fish, so by proclaiming the Word of, we can “catch” souls for Christ. Thus, St. Paul affirms: “For, ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ But how are they to call on One in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in One of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him?”
In 2014, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued pastoral guidelines touching on the need to devise aggressive ways to evangelise.
“In its commitment to the new evangelisation, we propose that the Church in Ghana should strive to engage constantly in an evangelisation that is “new in its ardour/zeal”, “new in its methods”, and “new in its expression”. In this regard, evangelisers of the “new evangelisation” must seek to complement the shepherd’s model of evangelisation which works to maintain the flock within, with the fisherman’s model that launches out consistently into the deep to bring in others who are not yet in the fold,” states the Guideline.
In his March 2 Lenten Pastoral Letter, Archbishop Kwofie said, “As Catholics, while drawing souls to Christ, we will haul them into the spiritual boat, namely, the Church which He entrusted to St. Peter.”
“This Lent, therefore, is the time to arise, Catholic faithful, and gird our loins, so that we can push the boat into the sea,” he stated.
“From Easter Sunday, we can row the boat together to locate souls, and cast the spiritual net of God’s Word to catch them for Christ. These souls include lapsed and defected Catholics some of whom our visits and acts of kindness could be like the bait used by fishermen to attract them back into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,” Kwofie said.
In recent times, another Prelate of Ghana’s Sunyani Diocese, the Most Rev. Mathew Gyamfi said, “One big challenge of the Catholic Church in Ghana is the exodus of the youth to emerging Pentecostal and Charismatic denominations. In our poverty, the preaching of prosperity Gospel seems to catch the attention of many Ghanaians including young Catholics. They desire to get rich overnight.”
According to Bishop Gyamfi “The Pentecostal, Evangelical and Charismatic churches have embarked on an aggressive evangelization, attracting many Catholic youths into their fold and we are steadily losing membership.”
He also indicated the conversions of Catholics to Islam as one of the factors behind the decline of Catholics in the West African country.
“Islam (traditional, Shiites and Sunnis, and Ahmadis) wage a consistent campaign of presence and conversion of young men and women from the Catholic fold into Islam, mainly through marriage in some areas. Conversions are promoted in the marketplace, through front house stores, on campuses of universities and institutions of higher learning,” he added.
On donation towards the Accra Catholic Children’s Hospital Project, the Archbishop asked the people of God of the Archdiocese to use this Lenten Season to commit themselves to the realization of the Hospital at Atomic-Kwabenya.
“In this Lenten Season, I wish to encourage every Catholic in the Archdiocese to make a commitment to donate towards the realization of the construction of the Children’s Hospital,” he said in a Lenten Pastoral Letter to all Christ’s Faithful.
In the March 2, 2022 Letter, the Accra Prelate stated, “the Lenten practices of fasting and almsgiving go hand-in-hand, the monies we save through fasting should be committed to almsgiving/charity. And the Children’s Hospital project affords us a unique opportunity to be charitable to many children across several future generations.”
He assured the people of God that “The Lord will certainly reward in abundance all who cheerfully give towards this impactful legacy project. Here is His assurance to all: “give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.”
On January 16, 2022, the Archbishop launched the Legacy of Hope projects in the Archdiocese with the subsequent sod-cutting of the Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, January 18, which is first of the Legacy of Hope projects at Atomic-Kwabenya.
“I wish to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to the organisers of the sod-cutting event, parishes, church associations, organizations, families, and individuals who cheerfully donated or pledged various sums of money on the occasion,” said Archbishop Kwofie.
By Damian Avevor
Accra Lenten Pastoral Letter 2022
