Evangelization should build civilization of love
From Steve Kakrabah-Quarshie, Cape Coast
Most Rev. Gabriel A. A. Mante, Bishop of Jasikan has emphasized that the New Evangelisation should build a civilization of love in the world. He said it should also fight negative forces that were emptying Christianity of its core religious meanings and practices.
Bishop Mante was giving the keynote address at the 11th Theology Week of the St. Peter’s Regional Seminary at Pedu, Cape Coast. It was under the theme: The New Evangelisation: Its Relevance for Priestly Formation and Ministry in the Ghanaian Context.
He said forces such as secularism and economic principles which had encouraged the making of profit before human development should also be brought into focus.
The Bishop noted that these and other negative issues were rather “intruding forcefully into the Ghanaian Society and compromising if not eroding the positive religious and cultural values of our ancestors and the early missionaries”.
Bishop Mante noted that these and other phenomena were more visible in the education sector, stressing that the Catholic Church, “if it becomes necessary for it to stand alone, should maintain its hold on the inalienable values of the dignity of humanity”.
The Catholic Church, Bishop Mante noted, does not support the limiting of the human value or the usefulness to their economic productivity, or “encourage people to accept policies whose implementation would ultimately end in the loss of their God-given dignity”. He gave the assurance that the Church in Ghana would continue to move and work meaningfully on the realities it faces in relation to the diverse people it was called to bring the Gospel.
According to him, the New Evangelisation should be directed to the faithful who regularly practiced their faith but face several challenges in a variety of circumstances. The people, he pointed out, must be helped and supported to reinforce and deepen their faith in Christ, not forgetting “those who feel hurt and excluded, though they remain in the Church”. Besides, he added, there were countless young men and women as well as single parents who needed Christ and His Gospel in their lives.
Bishop Mante said the New Evagelisation has to reckon with the resurgence of the activities of fetish priests, the attraction of Mallams, spiritualists as well as occultism which had invaded almost all sections of the Ghanaian society. He declared: “It is important to indicate that the involvement of all in the New Evangelisation does not exclude leadership in carrying out this mandate, neither should the leadership exclude others”.
Bishop Mante told the Session, presided over by Most Rev. Matthias Nketsiah, Archbishop of Cape Coast, that the objective of a Priest was to proclaim the Word of God to people. He stated that the New Evangelisation should occupy a centre place in the Seminary curriculum and recommended that its handling should not be overly academic.
The Bishop further recommended that “practical approaches should be crafted and adopted if the New Evangelisation should reach all manner of Catholics and those yet to encounter Christ”.
Theological Formation of Priests in the Context of the New Evangelisation, was the topic handled by Very, Rev. Fr. Dr. Appiah-Kubi, President of the National Union of Ghana Diocesan Priests Association (NUGDPA) and a Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. He stated that the future Priests would be obliged to undergo serious Theological Formation to enable them take greater responsibility in a pastoral context.
Fr. Appiah-Kubi said Priests should exercise their ministry in a church, “moving and seeking to adapt herself to the new demands that are ongoing both within herself and the world”. He pointed out that future Priests would also have to exercise their ministry among people who were more adult, more critical and better informed, immersed in world of ideological pluralism where Christianity was exposed to so many interpretations and suspicions.
Fr. Appiah-Kubi added, “it must be emphasized that the very faith of Priests is today exposed to greater danger than before in the context of prevailing atmosphere of unbelief, skepticism of the world as well as of prevailing charismaticism and spiritualism of the world”. He said the Formation of Priests must therefore take into account this difficult situation, wondering how Priests could stand firm on their faith and strengthen others without a theological preparation.
According to him, today’s ecumenical dialogue weighed heavily on Theology as it also encourages new research into the history and sources of our doctrine.
He said to fulfill its mission of serving the Church today, Theology must come to terms with human science.
Catholic Theology, he stated, could not rescind from the doctrine and experience “which come from the life of the Church”.
He was of the view that the Catholic Theologian in the field of exegesis and in his other scientific work, could not unconditionally follow methods or accept the results of theologies exposed or extraneous to the Church.
At the programme were Rev. Fr. Robert Charles Snyper, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary and 15 Seminarians from the St. Nicholas Anglican Theological Seminary at Cape Coast, led by their Dean, Rev. Cannon Emmanuel Addo.
The New Evangelisation and Social Communication, was handled by Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey, Managing Director of Graphic Communications Group.
Other topics were the New Evangelisation and Liturgical Inculturation by Rev. Fr. Vincent Owusu, SVD, Director, Institute for Continuing Formation.
Mr. Charles Mensah, National Co-ordinator, Biblical Apostolate treated the New Evangelisation and Biblical Apostolate while Rev. Fr. Clement Adjei, a Lawyer of the Sekondi-takoradi Diocese handled the New Evangelisation and Social Justice.
The Formation of Pastoral Agents for the New Evangelisation, was the topic treated by Rev. Fr. James Yameke Ackah, Lecturer at the Catholic University, Fiapre, Sir Anthony Annan Prah, a Lecturer at the Cape Coast University handed the New Evangelization and Inter-Religion Dialogue, while Mrs. Angelina Mornah Domakyaareh, an Appeal Court Judge handled the New Evangelisation and the Family in the Ghanaian context at the five-day programme.
*Bishop Mante delivering his paper.
Most Rev. Gabriel A. A. Mante, Bishop of Jasikan has emphasized that the New Evangelisation should build a civilization of love in the world. He said it should also fight negative forces that were emptying Christianity of its core religious meanings and practices.
Bishop Mante was giving the keynote address at the 11th Theology Week of the St. Peter’s Regional Seminary at Pedu, Cape Coast. It was under the theme: The New Evangelisation: Its Relevance for Priestly Formation and Ministry in the Ghanaian Context.
He said forces such as secularism and economic principles which had encouraged the making of profit before human development should also be brought into focus.
The Bishop noted that these and other negative issues were rather “intruding forcefully into the Ghanaian Society and compromising if not eroding the positive religious and cultural values of our ancestors and the early missionaries”.
Bishop Mante noted that these and other phenomena were more visible in the education sector, stressing that the Catholic Church, “if it becomes necessary for it to stand alone, should maintain its hold on the inalienable values of the dignity of humanity”.
The Catholic Church, Bishop Mante noted, does not support the limiting of the human value or the usefulness to their economic productivity, or “encourage people to accept policies whose implementation would ultimately end in the loss of their God-given dignity”. He gave the assurance that the Church in Ghana would continue to move and work meaningfully on the realities it faces in relation to the diverse people it was called to bring the Gospel.
According to him, the New Evangelisation should be directed to the faithful who regularly practiced their faith but face several challenges in a variety of circumstances. The people, he pointed out, must be helped and supported to reinforce and deepen their faith in Christ, not forgetting “those who feel hurt and excluded, though they remain in the Church”. Besides, he added, there were countless young men and women as well as single parents who needed Christ and His Gospel in their lives.
Bishop Mante said the New Evagelisation has to reckon with the resurgence of the activities of fetish priests, the attraction of Mallams, spiritualists as well as occultism which had invaded almost all sections of the Ghanaian society. He declared: “It is important to indicate that the involvement of all in the New Evangelisation does not exclude leadership in carrying out this mandate, neither should the leadership exclude others”.
Bishop Mante told the Session, presided over by Most Rev. Matthias Nketsiah, Archbishop of Cape Coast, that the objective of a Priest was to proclaim the Word of God to people. He stated that the New Evangelisation should occupy a centre place in the Seminary curriculum and recommended that its handling should not be overly academic.
The Bishop further recommended that “practical approaches should be crafted and adopted if the New Evangelisation should reach all manner of Catholics and those yet to encounter Christ”.
Theological Formation of Priests in the Context of the New Evangelisation, was the topic handled by Very, Rev. Fr. Dr. Appiah-Kubi, President of the National Union of Ghana Diocesan Priests Association (NUGDPA) and a Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. He stated that the future Priests would be obliged to undergo serious Theological Formation to enable them take greater responsibility in a pastoral context.
Fr. Appiah-Kubi said Priests should exercise their ministry in a church, “moving and seeking to adapt herself to the new demands that are ongoing both within herself and the world”. He pointed out that future Priests would also have to exercise their ministry among people who were more adult, more critical and better informed, immersed in world of ideological pluralism where Christianity was exposed to so many interpretations and suspicions.
Fr. Appiah-Kubi added, “it must be emphasized that the very faith of Priests is today exposed to greater danger than before in the context of prevailing atmosphere of unbelief, skepticism of the world as well as of prevailing charismaticism and spiritualism of the world”. He said the Formation of Priests must therefore take into account this difficult situation, wondering how Priests could stand firm on their faith and strengthen others without a theological preparation.
According to him, today’s ecumenical dialogue weighed heavily on Theology as it also encourages new research into the history and sources of our doctrine.
He said to fulfill its mission of serving the Church today, Theology must come to terms with human science.
Catholic Theology, he stated, could not rescind from the doctrine and experience “which come from the life of the Church”.
He was of the view that the Catholic Theologian in the field of exegesis and in his other scientific work, could not unconditionally follow methods or accept the results of theologies exposed or extraneous to the Church.
At the programme were Rev. Fr. Robert Charles Snyper, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary and 15 Seminarians from the St. Nicholas Anglican Theological Seminary at Cape Coast, led by their Dean, Rev. Cannon Emmanuel Addo.
The New Evangelisation and Social Communication, was handled by Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey, Managing Director of Graphic Communications Group.
Other topics were the New Evangelisation and Liturgical Inculturation by Rev. Fr. Vincent Owusu, SVD, Director, Institute for Continuing Formation.
Mr. Charles Mensah, National Co-ordinator, Biblical Apostolate treated the New Evangelisation and Biblical Apostolate while Rev. Fr. Clement Adjei, a Lawyer of the Sekondi-takoradi Diocese handled the New Evangelisation and Social Justice.
The Formation of Pastoral Agents for the New Evangelisation, was the topic treated by Rev. Fr. James Yameke Ackah, Lecturer at the Catholic University, Fiapre, Sir Anthony Annan Prah, a Lecturer at the Cape Coast University handed the New Evangelization and Inter-Religion Dialogue, while Mrs. Angelina Mornah Domakyaareh, an Appeal Court Judge handled the New Evangelisation and the Family in the Ghanaian context at the five-day programme.
*Bishop Mante delivering his paper.
