From Damian Avevor, Ho
Most Rev. Philip Naameh, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), says that the Ghanaian family was experiencing emerging trends which were at variance with the ideal family image foreseen by the Church’s tradition of faith and morals.
He said “the phenomenon of teenage and single parenthood, poor or irresponsible parenting, separate household and distant marriages that make couples live apart, and in some cases far away from each other, and relatives ease decisions regarding separation and /or divorce are all aspects of contemporary trends in the Ghanaian family today.”
He said this at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Plenary Assembly of the Conference on the theme: Integral Pastoral Care for the Family in the light of Amoris Laetitia at Ho on Monday, November 13.
The Assembly from November 6 to 18, was attended by all the Bishops of the Conference as well as Most Rev. Jean-Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana; Most Rev. Peter K. Sarpong, Most Rev. Francis A. K Lodonu, Most Rev. Paul Bemile and Most Rev. Anthony Adauty, Emeriti Bishops of Kumasi, Ho, Wa and Keta-Akatsi respectively.
The opening was chaired by Nana Soglo Alloh IV, Paramount Chief of Likpe Traditional Area and President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs.
Archbishop Naameh noted that peer pressure especially among young people in towns and cities, was both physical and digital, lamenting that social media rule their lives and they must organise their experiences according to their dictates.
He said one of the most change – resistant aspects of the traditional vision of marriage and family life in Ghana was the importance society attached to fertility, sexual satisfaction and child birth in marriage.
“There is also a general increase in the use of orthodox medicine and its attendant Assisted Reproductive Technologies in redressing fertility challenges among urban elite families,” he added, saying that the Church is called upon to consider the moral dilemmas that Catholic Couples face when they stand before the decision to accept or reject the use of such possibilities.
The President of GCBC noted that some couples call on their Priests for direction in view of their faith and such calls, he stressed, were a loud cry for pastoral care and support that borders on conscience and other fundamental moral theological questions.
He stated that the Ghanaian Church needs intervention that would deal with inimical traditions of widowhood, which persist in some places, noting that “Widowhood rites of this kind are sometimes only the evident clue of worse conditions that women must suffer in the event of death of a partner or divorce.
On traditional marriage, the Archbishop said the issue of brideprice, which was frequently taken out of its original traditional context, was becoming increasingly monetarised and exaggerated. “The expense of marrying properly according to traditional rules has become, in some cases, quite burdensome for the average young man in Ghana seeking the hand of a woman in marriage,” he stated.
He proposed that special attention should be given to forming special agents to accompany the youth at their various stages of development, to assist their understanding of the Vocation of marriage and family life and also the Religious Life so as to prepare adequately for it. He said all Associations in Parishes need to have at least two marriage counsellors, who working closely with the Priests, could identify families in need of care.
Quoting Amoris Laetitia (The joy of Love), Pope’s Francis’ Post-Synodal Exhortation, the GCBC President in considering a pastoral approach towards people who had contracted civil marriages, divorced and remarried or simply living together, the Church has the responsibility of helping them understand the divine pedagogy of grace in their lives and offering them assistance so that they could reach the fullness of God’s plan for them.
Archbishop Speich in a message, said the theme for this year’s Plenary Session was apt, since as it brought to the fore, a reflection of Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
“I appreciate the aptness of the theme chosen by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference for this Plenary Assembly, focusing on the integral Pastoral care of families which is indeed the goal of Pope Francis’ groundbreaking new Document,” he said.
He said Amoris Laetitia was to help families and everyone to experience God’s love and to know that all were welcome members of the Church
He indicated that families in the world today were living in a complex situation with its problems and challenges coming from within and from external causes, saying that Pope Francis “invites us to look at the reality of the family today in all its complexity, with both in its lights and shadows; in faithfulness to Christ’s teaching.”
Welcoming the Bishops, Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Bishop of Ho, gave a statistical overview of the Diocese, saying it had three Deaneries with a total of 29 Parishes.
The Diocese has 92 Diocesan Priests, two Male Religious Missionary Congregations (Spiritans and Redemptorists); one secular Institute, Foyer de Charite; one Pious Union the Franciscan Friars of Africa; and one female Religious Institute, Sisters Mary Mother of the Church.
In the area of human development, Bishop Fianu said the Diocese has 99 Kindergartens, 102 Primary Schools, 45 Junior High Schools, Seven Second cycle Schools and two Colleges of Education.
He noted that the Diocese was in the process of obtaining accreditation and affiliation for a College of Nursing to be cited in the premises of Margaret Marquart Catholic Hospital at Kpando.
He expressed concern about the bad nature of roads in the Diocese especially the Eastern Corridor and called for the early construction and completion of it, hoping that it would become the flagship of the Region.
He said since most of the population live in rural areas and are farmers, an improvement in this sector by means of easy access to technical and financial resources would go a long way to improve the lives of the people.
The Bishop called for support from his colleague Bishops in resolving the Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict which continues to inflict pain and worry in the Region, saying that it had reached a point to engage parties in a process of healing of memories and reconciliation.
There were goodwill messages from the Regional Minister, Anglican Bishop of Ho, Regional Chief Imam, National Union of Ghana Diocesan Priests’ Association (NUGDPA) Conference of Major Superiors, Ghana (CMSG), Ho Diocesan Catholic Laity Council and the National Union of Ghana Catholic Diocesan Priests’ Association.
In a message, Bishop Matthias Badohu, Anglican Bishop of Ho, pledged its support to the Bishops in carrying out the decisions and orientations that would emanate from their discussions. He said the invitation to the Anglican Communion was a promotion of unity and called for a monthly Vespers between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church
Mr. Maxwell Blagodzi, Deputy Volta Regional Minister in a message on behalf of the Minister, noted that the collaboration between the Catholic Church and Government over the years which had contributed significantly towards the achievement of peace and unity in the Volta Region and the nation as a whole.
Oh his part, the Regional Chief Imam, said their presence at the opening confirmed the bond of brotherhood and unity that existed between the various religious bodies in Ghana.
He said such continuous collaborations were needed to demonstrate and inculcated into Ghanaians for a sustained peaceful co-existence, stating that “without unity, there is no development.”
Present at the opening were Togbe Dadzawa III, Paramount Chief of Shia Traditional Area, who represented Togbe Afede XVI Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, scores of Priests and Religious, lay faithful and Senior Staff of the National Catholic Secretariat led by Very Rev. Lazarus Anondee and Rev. Fr. Wisdom Larweh, Secretary General and Assistant respectively.
See next week’s edition of this paper for the full text of the Communique of the Bishops.
