Catholic Bishop’s Plenary Assembly opens

The 2014 Plenary Assembly of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) to evaluate the activities of the Catholic Church over the past years is underway in Accra.

The conference brought together Bishops, Archbishops and three Emeriti Archbishops, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana and Catholic faithful is also to deliberate on the welfare of the Church and plan for the future.

The conference was on the theme: “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of the New Evangelisation.”

Most Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu, President of the GCBC, said the conference has 19 active Bishops made up of 4 Archbishops, 14 Bishops and an Apostolic Vicar.

Most Rev Osei-Bonsu, who is also the Bishop of the Konongo-Mampong Diocese in the Ashanti Region, said the theme is necessary since it would deliberate on the best pastoral approach to adopt as a local church to handle the challenges faced by the family in the context of the country and Africa.

He said at the just-ended Synod of Bishops on the family in Rome, and the synod Fathers discussed the meaning of family, its values and the challenges of marriage and family life and the Church’s response to issues of family and marriage in contemporary society.

Most Rev Osei-Bonsu said the synod affirmed that the traditional teaching of the Church on the family as contained in Scripture and in the Church’s Magisterium should be upheld at all times so that the family could continue its role in the Church’s New Evangelisation.

He said plenary session would examined the meaning of the family as the vital building block of society and the ecclesiastical community and the role of the family as the sanctuary where life is born, nurtured and welcomed as a gift and as a community of life and love.

He noted that the family undergoing a real crisis characterised by urban economic pressures, financial burdens, marital infidelity, sexual promiscuity, and the secular philosophy of relativism which has put the stability of society at risk.

“It is important and urgent as part of our Christian duty, that we engage in a more careful pastoral reflection on the family to let the right understanding of it influence whatever decision the decision we take regarding the family,” he added.

Most Rev Osei-Bonsu said the theme would help the bishops to discuss the needs of the Catholic faithful with regard to issues of dissolubility of marriage, the prohibition on the use of artificial contraceptives, cohabitation, divorce and re-marriage and the sacrament.

He said a delegation of Bishops paid a courtesy call on Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Minister of Education in July to discuss issues relating to education with focus on the Memoranda of Understanding on the Education Partnership between the State and Faith-Based organisations.

Most Rev Osei-Bonsu said the Bishop’s conference launched the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office on October, 23, 2013 to facilitate contact and dialogue between the Church on one hand and the country’s legislature and Executive on the other.

He explained that the office would provide an avenue for the Church to influence public policy for the common good in areas of political, economic and social concerns.

He said a six- member delegation of the Bishop’s conference met with Catholic members of Parliament on July 23, and discussed national issues such as constitutional review process, National Health Insurance Scheme, Ebola Viral Disease, and corruption.

Representatives from Christian Council of Ghana, Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ga Traditional Council, National Catholic Laity Council the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council gave fraternal messages in support of a successful conference.