The Catholic Standard

In his first message for the annual World Day of Peace, Pope Francis said that peace and social justice were impossible without a spirit of fraternity based on recognition that all men and women were children of God – a relationship fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The nearly 5,000 word message entitled “Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace,” was released by the Vatican to mark the World Day of Peace on January 1. “Without fraternity, it is impossible to build a just society and a solid and lasting peace,” the Pope wrote. “ At the same time, it appears clear that contemporary ethical systems remain incapable of producing authentic bonds of fraternity, since a fraternity devoid of reference to a common Father as its ultimate foundation is unable to endure, he said. True brotherhood among peoples presupposes and demands a transcendent Fatherhood.” The Pope added that, “in a particular way, human fraternity is regenerated in and by Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. The Cross is the definitive foundational locus of that fraternity which human beings are not capable of generating themselves.”  Pope Francis surveyed contemporary attacks on human dignity – including war, economic ...

His Eminence Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican, has called for the extension of internet and other technological facilities to rural areas in order to improve upon the quality of education in villages and towns in West Africa. He said it was time internet facilities were made available in villages to catch up with Technology which was usually limited to cities and big towns. Cardinal Appiah Turkson was speaking at the inauguration of Friends of Cardinal Turkson Fund for Health and Education (CTFHE) at a Mass at Christ the King Catholic Church in Accra recently. Cardinal Turkson established the CTFHE to support poor women and promote quality education in rural areas. The Fund has a Board of Trustees comprising 23 members with the Cardinal as Chairman,  Mr. Andy Asamoah as Vice and Rev. Fr. Patrick Amos as  Secretary. Other members of the Board include Most Rev. Mathias K. Nketsiah, Mr. Martin Esson- Benjamin, Mrs. Peggy Dzodzomenyo , Nana Egyir  Agyrey, Mr. George Nsiah,  Mr. Bernard Ekow Sam, Mr. Gail Glover Grant II, Sir Paul Victor Obeng and Professor Dr.  Sir Wireko  Brobbey. According to Cardinal Turkson, the Fund was also ...

Thousands of Catholic faithful from all over the Sunyani Diocese, Priests, Religious and dignitaries, including sixteen Bishops recently attended the thanksgiving Mass to climax the Ruby Jubilee(40th Anniversary) celebration of the canonical erection of the Sunyani Diocese, at the Christ the King Cathedral. Most Rev. Matthew K Gyamfi, Bishop of Sunyani was the main celebrant at the Mass concelebrated by Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference; Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle, Archbishop of Accra; Most Rev. Philip Naameh, Archbishop of Tamale; Most Rev. Justice Anokye, Archbishop of Kumasi; and Most Rev. Thomas Mensah, Archbishop Emeritus of Kumasi, who was the homilist. At the Mass also were Very Rev Frs. Nicholas Afriyie and Emmanuel Abbey-Quaye, Secretary General and Assistant of the National Catholic Secretariat. The celebration was on the theme: Re-awakening the Faith Through a New Wave of Evangelisation. Archbishop Mensah, in a homily commended the pioneering zeal of the Missionaries who defied all odds to plant the faith in the Region, saying that the first Mass in Brong-Ahafo was celebrated on the Atanotia Street by Rev. Fr. Rudolf, SMA in 1923, travelling on foot from Kumasi to Berekum. He paid glowing tribute to Most Rev. Peter ...

Thousands of Catholics on Sunday, November 24, trooped to the Black Star Square in Accra for Mass to climax the 120th Anniversary of Catholic Mission in Accra. The main celebrant at the Mass concelebrated by about 200 Priests of the Archdiocese of Accra as well as some visiting Priests, was Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra. The Mass coincided with the Feast of Christ the King and the climax of the Year of Faith declared last year by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The congregation at the five-hour open air Mass, was spared the oppressive weather of the last few weeks in Accra. The year-long celebration was on the theme:120 Years of Catholic Mission: Honouring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Building the Future with  the Slogan: Arise Catholic Faithful, Rejoice and Renew. Dignitaries at the Mass included President John Dramani Mahama. Also present was Former President John Agyekum Kufuor and his wife, Theresa. At the end of the Mass, the congregation prayed for greater zeal and fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the evangelisation mission of the Church. They also prayed for all the early Missionaries, the Priests, Religious and lay faithful, through whose labour and sacrifices ...

At the end of its nine-day Plenary Assembly, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference lamented that  the desire for money, which has taken the centre stage in all aspects of life, is having a telling effect on society. This has therefore become a big challenge to the new evangelisation.“The desire to make quick money and by whatever means possible is bringing a huge social cost and untold suffering to the poor and vulnerable in our midst.” These were contained in a Communiqué read by Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, President of the Bishops’ Conference at the closing Mass of the Plenary Assembly at the Sunyani Christ the King Cathedral on the theme: The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith in Ghana. The Assembly was attended by all the Bishops of Ghana.The Bishops were sad that there were growing inequalities in our society fueled by corruption and other forms of malfeasance in recent times. “Corruption comes in all forms and occurs in all places of our public and social life; it occurs in our Churches, in our educational institutions, and in our health facilities”.We are all culpable of what is happening in this country since advertently or inadvertently, we stoke ...