The members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference are currently in the Wa Diocese in Ghana’s Upper West Region for their 2021 Plenary Assembly which would focus on the theme : “Frateli Tutti and COVID-19: Pastoral Opportunities and Challenges in Ghana.”
Active and retired Bishops of the 19 Dioceses and a Vicariate are expected to attend the Plenary from November 5 to 13, 2021. Their Vicars General are representing Bishops who are unable to attend.
As part of the Plenary, an opening ceremony is currently taking place today, November 8, 2021 being addressed by the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Most Rev. Philip Naameh and other dignitaries including the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, the Most Rev. Henryk Mieczyslaw Jagodzinski and the Most Rev. Richard Kuuia Baawobr, the Catholic Bishop of Wa.
Some activities characterizing the Plenary include courtesy calls on political and traditional leaders, visits to the St. Joseph Parish in Jirapa, where the Catholic faith of the Upper West Region began and visit to Parishes and Eucharistic celebrations in the region among others.
At a media briefing in Wa on Monday, October 25, Bishop Baawobr reportedly explained that the theme of the event was in consonance with the letter of Pope Francis on the COVID-19 pandemic, which emphasised the need for collective efforts in fighting the disease.
“Pope Francis reflected on how the world tragedy like COVID-19 pandemic momentarily revived the sense that we are a global community, all in the same boat, where one person’s problems are the problems of all”, he explained.
According to the Ghana News Agency, the Bishop said the Plenary would focus on the reality of the pandemic and its influence on human life, especially its impact on the mission of spreading the gospel.
It would also discuss the impact of the pandemic on the socio-economic development, educational, cultural and political development of the country.
He sought the media collaboration in ensuring the event was successful saying, “The media have a crucial role in communicating to the world the basic facts of the event”.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference is a religious organisation having its legal foundation in the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, which applies to all Catholic Churches of the Roman Rite throughout the world.
The Bishops’ Conference, according to the Canon Law of the Catholic Church (Canon 447-459), is the central Body of the Church in Ghana. Its purpose is to deliberate on matters of concern to the Church in Ghana and to encourage activities in accordance with the needs of the times.
All the Bishops in Ghana are members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, which has a President and a Vice President. Their term of office is three years, but they can be re-appointed for a second term. The current President is Most Rev. Philip Naameh, Archbishop of Tamale Archdiocese, while the Vice President is Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Archbishop of Cape Coast.
The Bishops meet in Plenary twice in a year, May (when they receive reports from the various Departments of the National Catholic Secretariat, Commissions and Chaplaincies, and November (when they deliberate on matters of general concern and issue a Communiqué at the end of the session).
The Bishops’ Conference in addition to Plenary Assemblies, has an Administrative Board to handle ordinary matters in between the Plenary Assemblies. The Administrative Board is made up of the President, the Vice President and one representative from each of the four Provinces of cape Coast, Kumasi, Accra and Tamale.
