By Damian Avevor
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), has honoured three retired Bishops with a Citation each for their untiring efforts as members of the Conference.
They are Most Rev. Francis Anani Kofi Lodonu, Most Rev. Paul Bemile, and Most Rev. Anthony Kwami Adanuty, Bishops Emeriti of Ho, Wa and Keta-Akatsi respectively.
The Citations and undisclosed amount of money were presented to them on behalf of the GCBC by its Vice President, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, during its 2017 Annual Plenary Assembly, Ho.
The Citations were read by Rev. Fr. Wisdom Larweh, Assistant Secretary General of the National Catholic Secretariat.
Bishop Lodonu (June 29, 1973 to July 14, 2015)
Bishop Lodonu’s Citation read: “The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference will remember you as a strong advocate for truth and reconciliation. We will continue to count on your rich experience.”
It stated that from 1974 to 1984, he was the Episcopal Chairman responsible for the Department of Socio-Economic Development and from 1984 to 1992, the Chairman of the Department of Education.
The Citation said the fruits of his life were abundant, stating that in 1992, “you were elected at Wa as the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference. This was a tumultuous period in the political history of Ghana, it added.
The GCBC praised him for providing effective leadership to the people of God, commending him for working tirelessly as President of the Conference, towards the creation of five new Dioceses in Ghana in 1994/1995.
“As President of the Bishops’ Conference, you also inaugurated the first Board of Directors of the Quality Insurance Company in 1995. From 1997 to 2004, you chaired the National Catholic Laity Council. You later on became the Chairman of the Department of Ecumenism and Inter-Religious Dialogue, the Citation stated.
It said in 2004, he successfully hosted the 10th Association of Episcopal Conferences of Anglophone West Africa (AECAWA) at Ho, adding that “You were equally instrumental in the merger of the French, English and Portuguese speaking West African Bishops’ Conferences into the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) in 2012.”
Bishop Bemile (March 25, 1995 to February 17, 2016)
The Citation described him as polyglot of repute, who is known to use his immense knowledge of Dagaare, Dagbani, English, French, German, Italian, Greek, Latin and Hebrew to spread and enhance the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
It said “The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference recognise the immense contribution you made to the growth of key institutions of the Conference as Chairman of the Governance, Justice and Peace Commission; Chairman, Clergy and Religious; Chairman of the Medical Ethical Commission; Chairman of Juridical Matters Commission; Chairman of National Migrants Commission; and Member of the Governing Council of the Board of Trustees, Catholic University College, Fiapre.”
The GCBC extolled him for his sterling qualities as an outstanding Religious Leader which had won him places on both national and international bodies, recalling that in 2003, he was a member of the Governing Council of the National African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and in 2016, he worked as a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Rome.
It said “Before your consecration as Bishop of Wa on March 25, 1995, you held important positions. Between 1990 and 1995, you were the Rector of St. Victor’s Major Seminary, Tamale. You also held the position of Vice-President of the Association of the Episcopal Conferences of Anglophone West Africa (AECAWA) Seminaries Commission.”
Bishop Adanuty (May 28, 1995- April 7, 2016)
The Citation said “You will be remembered as one of the Ghanaian Catholic Priests who worked longest in the Vatican. Before your enthronement as Bishop of Keta-Akatsi on May 28, 1995, you worked in the Vatican as an Officer in the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.”
It added that he was responsible for territories of Eastern and Southern Africa as well as the Islamic Section in Mission Territories and in all; he served for 24 years, from 1971 to 1995.
“At the National Catholic Secretariat, you were the Episcopal Chairman of the following: Judicial Matters, Department of Social Communications and the Department of Socio-Economic Development,” it stated.
Until his retirement on April 7, 2016, Bishop Adanuty was the Vice-President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (2010-2016), a task the GCBC lauded him for carrying out with humility and love.
The Citation commended him for his instrumentality in the successful organisation of the Second National Pastoral Congress in Sunyani in 2014 and the First Pro-Life Conference in Accra in 2015.
