The Most Rev. Philip Naameh, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has observed with sadness how politics in the West African country is splitting Catholics apart on partisan lines.
“Sad to say that politics in Ghana has also split our members on partisan lines. This is making it difficult for us also to speak with one voice,” he said in a Keynote Address at the opening of the 2022 Plenary Assembly of the Conference on Monday November 7 at Donkorkrom in the Afram Plains.
“It is not uncommon to see Catholics taking strong partisan stance on issues that are clearly against their faith,” he observed, saying, “Because of politics, one’s commitment to the nation and the Church is mostly sacrificed for partisan interests.”
According him, there is the need for “new evangelisation to target those members who have fallen away, with the aim of helping them to make Christ the centre of their lives in order to propose him to others as mandated by Christ himself.”
Archbishop Naameh also touched on how non-Catholic elements were creeping into Catholic liturgy, saying, “I wish to also make this observation concerning the influence of non-Catholic elements in our liturgy, which we must address.”
He expressed worry that “Some of our priests have introduced these non-Catholic elements into our Catholic Liturgy, thereby losing its Catholic character.” The effects of this practice on the faith of our people, he noted were enormous as it leaves some of them confused, and they end up leaving the Church.
“As Bishops, we must continue to address these challenges but with new approaches which must include listening. The emphasis on synodal process as proposed by Pope Francis has come at the proper time as we think about how to handle these challenges in our effort to evangelize.”
The theme for the 2022 Plenary Assembly 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. Evangelisation is the collective responsibility of all Christ’s faithful.
Archbishop Naameh stated that for the Church to create the path together, listening would be fundamental, saying “We need to let ourselves be educated by the Spirit to a truly synodal mentality, entering with courage and freedom of heart into a conversion process that is indispensable for the continual reformation of which the Church always has need, in so far as she is a human institution.”
“We are invited to take the act of listening further by broadening consultation. On this journey together, listening to hopes and dreams people have for the Church has the power to make us live out our mission,” he added.
