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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "Ghana is blessed with a population that naturally and easily expresses its belief in God and which seeks to honour him in the variety of religious traditions present in your country", said Pope Francis to bishops of Ghana, in Rome for their ad limina visits.
The Country is one of the most stable and prosperous in Africa: according to the index of governance in 2013 compiled by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Ghana is the seventh African country better governed, and has one of the most dynamic economies in the continent (the rate of growth - Gross Domestic Product in 2013 was 7.9%). The relative economic well-being has, however some implications which are not always positive such as the spread of secularism. "The secular mentality is certainly a challenge for the Church in Ghana" says His Exc. Mgr. Josesph Osei-Bonsu, Bishop of Konong-Mampong and President of the Episcopal Conference of Ghana in an interview with Fides Agency. "More and more people have a secular mentality to the point that the Church is forced to try to re-evangelize those who profess to be Catholics or other Christians, and yet continues his work of first evangelization trying to reach those who are not Christians". "We focus especially in spreading Christian values that are challenged by the secular mentality", says Mgr. Osei-Bonsu.
As Pope Francis said in his speech to the Bishops, "Ghana has been spared much of the tribal, ethnic and religious divisions that have afflicted too many other parts of Africa". On the contribution of religions to the life of the nation, Msg. Osei-Bonsu said: "One of the factors that contribute to the Country's stability is certainly the good relationship that is established among the different national religious communities; in the ecumenical field among the various Christian denominations and among these and Islam and traditional African religions. The collaboration between the State and the various national religious reality is another factor that helps the Country to overcome the difficult moments".
The President of the Episcopal Conference continues: "As Bishops we intervene on social issues, when we consider it appropriate, with special pastoral letters and, in some cases, meeting the Head of State. In addition, we meet parliamentarians twice a year to discuss issues related to the nation, in this way we try to contribute, as Bishops, to the stability of Ghana".
File: Ghana has a population of 25,111,000 inhabitants, of whom 3,293,000 are Catholics. There are 24 Bishops; 1,161 diocesan priests and 161 religious priests; 245professed religious, 1,027 women religious. The Church in Ghana manages 1,597 kindergartens with 173,563 children; 1,923 primary schools with 488,891 pupils; 1,097 middle and high schools with 239,652 students; 46 hospitals; 74 dispensaries; 8 hospices; 11 orphanages; 24 kindergartens (data of the Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2012). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 25/09/2014)
