The National Catholic Laity Council, Ghana (NCLC), has welcomed the approval by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) to extend the upper age limit for youth participation in the Catholic Church in Ghana to 35 years.
The approval was among several proposals presented by the Council to the Bishops over the past year and subsequently granted, according to the National Chairman of the NCLC, Sir John Kofi Tandoh, KSG.
In a goodwill message at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Plenary Assembly of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference in the Konongo-Mampong Diocese, Sir Tandoh expressed gratitude to the Bishops for their favourable consideration of the proposals.
He said the decision, alongside the approval for Catholic women’s groups and associations to establish youth wings within their structures, represented an encouraging development in strengthening lay participation in the Church.
The other proposals included the institution of an Annual Laity Day Celebration and the approval of an Annual Catholic Support Levy of GH¢5.
Sir Tandoh described the approvals as signs of deepening communion, confidence and collaboration between the Church’s leadership and the lay faithful.
He said the Council’s responsibility was now to work towards ensuring that the decisions moved beyond formal approvals and translated into effective pastoral action.
The National Chairman said the NCLC looked forward to collaborating with the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the National Catholic Secretariat, Archdioceses, Dioceses, the clergy and other Church structures to ensure the fruitful implementation of the decisions.
He expressed the Council’s commitment to working with the relevant Church structures to translate the approvals into meaningful opportunities for greater youth involvement and participation in the life of the Catholic Church in Ghana.
By Celestine Edem Gbologah and Theresa Kpordzo // Newswatchgh.com
