Catholic Church enthrones Archbishop Palmer-Buckle

Accra, May 28, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor and the First Lady, Theresa were among the congregation that witnessed the enthronement of His Grace Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle as the Second Metropolitan Archbishop of the Accra Archdiocese of the Catholic Church.

His predecessor Archbishop Emeritus Dominic Kodwo Andoh, Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast and Most Reverend George Kocherry, the Apostolic Nuncio in Ghana, jointly performed the enthronement ceremony at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra. President Kufuor, addressing the congregation asked Archbishop Palmer-Buckle to ensure a united Ghana as a priority agenda for Ghanaians to truly enjoy peace.

He said, " We are one people. The communality of our ambitions and aspirations must inspire the search for more and more opportunities to act in concert. Even so, on our own, we cannot hope to achieve much, because of our limited human capabilities."

President Kufuor commended Archbishop Emeritus Andoh for his tremendous contribution to the Church and society during his 34 years pastoral duties that culminated in the establishment of an Education Endowment Fund to support needy and deserving pupils and students from the basic to the tertiary level.

Most Reverend Lucas Abadamloora, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference pledged the support and encouragement of the Conference to Archbishop Palmer-Buckle for his new appointment. Archbishop Palmer-Buckle, 55 who was in-charge of the Koforidua Diocese, succeeded Archbishop Emeritus Andoh, who had reached the canonical age of 75.

According to the ordinance of the Catholic Church, a Bishop resigns from active pastoral obligations at the age of 75.

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle was ordained a Priest on December 12, 1976 by Archbishop Emeritus Andoh at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra and ordained the first Bishop of the Koforidua Diocese of the Church by the late Pope John Paul II on January 6 1993 at the Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

He held on to this position until March 30, this year when he was appointed the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra by Pope John Paul II before his death in April this year.