Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, has called on all bishops in Ghana to continue efforts aimed at addressing ongoing environmental degradation and matters related to conflict management and resolution.
During the opening ceremony of the 2025 Plenary Assembly of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Damongo, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi recounted the active involvement of the Bishops’ Conference in national elections, conflict mediation, and environmental advocacy.
According to Bishop Gymafi, during the 2024 elections, the church collaborated with the Electoral Commission to recruit and train 500 observers deployed across 174 polling stations in 95 constituencies and 14 regions in Ghana.
He added, “This collaboration exemplified synodality in practice; the Church walking with the nation in truth, vigilance, and civic responsibility.”
Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi also highlighted the Bishops’ Conference’s efforts aimed at managing conflicts in some parts of the country through the Sahel Peace Initiative (SPI).
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, through partnerships with the National Peace Council, regional authorities, and traditional leaders, has served as a bridge of reconciliation in conflict areas like Doba and Kandiga.
“The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference continues to collaborate with the National Peace Council and the National Centre for Early Warning and Response Mechanisms to develop a live conflict-mapping system for early intervention and preventive action”, he added.
On environmental advocacy, Bishop Gyamfi noted that the church in Ghana has taken up environmental initiatives by collaborating with the National Coalition Against Galamsey and by advocating for “environmental justice through diocesan ecological desks and youth networks”.
He said, “Through the Green Ghana Campaign and parish-based ecological actions, the Church calls all citizens to see creation not as property to exploit but as a sacred gift to protect”, calling on all faithful to care for creation as a “moral duty and an act of love for generations yet unborn.”
By: Veronica Sena Amenya//Newswatchgh.com
