A SHORT REFLECTION ON THE WORK OF GOD ON THE OCCASION OF THE GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATION OF THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC SECRETARIAT (NCS) – 2ND AUGUST, 2012
“Praise the Lord, O my Soul,
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to you God
While l live”
(Ps. 146:1)
My Dear Brother Archbishops and Bishops,
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today is a great day in the life of the Catholic Church in Ghana. We are remembering the time 50 years ago when the Bishops’ Conference became a legal entity and therefore we have every reason to rejoice. The Psalmist in Psalm 146 is calling upon us all to praise the Lord. So long as l live, I shall continue to praise the Lord.
My Brothers and Sisters,
We are to give thanks to God for His special protection of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference which is very united throughout these 50 years. We certainly had our difficulties, misunderstandings and other challenges, but these had never separated any from the great brotherhood which we all enjoyed. There was love and agreement on all the points we discussed and voted on. Whenever the majority agreed on a point all concurred.
On one occasion at our “Ad Limina Visit” to the Pope, his African Secretary told us to be aware that the Vatican had a great respect for us and we should preserve the love and trust which bound us together.
It is God who did all these for us and we are glad. In today’s first reading God reminded us through the Prophet Jeremiah when God led him to the porter’s house and he saw the clay being molded broke up. He told him that he, Jeremiah should remember that He could do to us what the porter was doing to the clay which was not molding well according to the plan of the porter. In anger he broke the mould into pieces.
God reminds us that He is the porter and we are the clay, in His hand. Whatever success we can lay our hands on is the Work of God; we have no reason to be proud of that success. We must therefore give thanks to God and be humble.
The Gospel in Mt. 13 is equally clear. It is Jesus who plants the good seeds. The devil plants the weed. But God did not allow the weed to choke the good seeds. They grew up and were harvested.
Today, after 50 years in existence, we have every reason to celebrate our success story. God is certainly on our side.
Today, we remember our predecessors who built the Church from the very beginning of the Catholic Church in Ghana, from the Portuguese Missionaries of the 15th Century when it all began. Then some 130 years ago, the Catholic Church was permanently planted in our soil. The Catholic Church continues to be praised by all for her great spiritual and material development.
Today, we are reminded of the great Archbishops and Bishops who laid the foundation of this Conference and Secretariat 50 years ago. We take note of our Revered and Late Archbishop Amissah and our retired Archbishop Andoh who presided over the Conference for more than the six years stipulated today.
We must pay our tribute to Archbishop Andoh of Accra who for many years took care of the Conference and fed us in our meetings and financed the presidency without giving any bill to the Conference. Accra Archdiocese supported the whole Conference financially for many years.
The Secretariat was cared for at the beginning without turning to the dioceses to cover the Budget.
Msgr. Hilary Senoo took care of the Secretariat for 16 years and paid all his bills with his salary received as Education Secretary and allowances received as a member of the National Library Board. The Bishops were not called upon to contribute any money. He was his own driver for all the 16 years. He made tremendous sacrifices on behalf of the Secretariat which time will not allow us to speak about.
All the Episcopal Presidents with their Secretaries General did a wonderful work by keeping the Secretariat running up to this day.
We can say that my presidency of the Conference also saw great attempts to move the Conference forward. I, as president appointed the first Board of the QIC and inaugurated the Insurance Company with the help of Msgr. Balee and Archbishop Mensah as Secretaries. Our firm resolve made the Quality Insurance (QIC) possible.
I also appointed the Preparatory Committee which studied and helped us to establish the Catholic University. The Presidency and the Secretariat convinced the Bishops to accept to take these two bold steps.
Therefore, being called upon today to preside over this Holy Mass of the Golden Jubilee is not out of place. I wish to thank the President of our Conference, Bishop Joseph Osei Bonsu for the honour done me. All that God had done for us in these 50 years is what we are celebrating. God used us as instruments to achieve all these.
I wish to thank God for our present presidency and secretariat of the Conference for their great determination to achieve economic self-reliance. This is the great challenge of the Conference today. Many dioceses are finding it difficult to contribute to the upkeep of the Secretariat. An early solution is very urgent.
As l congratulate the Conference and the Secretariat on this Jubilee, l pray that the next 25 years should bring us stability and growth.
May God bless us all.
AD MULTOS ANNOS AC FAUSTOS
MOST REV. FRANCIS A. K. LODONU
BISHOP HO