THE President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Reverend Dr. Joseph Osei Bonsu, has entreated Catholic priests to adopt pragmatic approach in spreading the Gospel, in view of the global technological trend, so as to win more souls for Jesus Christ.
He urged them to focus their attention on the family, which is the basic unit of society, by nurturing and imbibing in them the traditions of the Catholic faith, and the fear of God, in order to draw them closer to God.
He pointed out that the family was going through a number of challenges, including marital infidelity, divorce, co-habitation, secular philosophy, corruption, abortion, artificial contraception among others, which is threatening the survival of the family.
Most Rev. Dr. Osei-Bonsu, who is also the Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, said this in a speech read on his behalf at the 25th National and 13th Biennial Congress of the National Union of Ghana Diocesan Priests Association (NUGDPA) of the Catholic Church, at Archbishop Porter Girls’ Senior High School, in Takoradi.
The four-day event, under the theme: “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the New Evangelization: The Role of the Diocesan Priest,” is to take stock of activities of the Association for the previous year, and chart the way forward.
Most Rev. Dr. Osei-Bonsu tasked the priests to use the Congress to reflect and come out with pragmatic solutions to the challenges confronting the family, since it played a vital role in the new evangelization crusade of the Church.
The President of NUGDPA, Rev Fr Dr. Francis Appiah-Kubi, entreated various local Catholic churches and movements, to train more family counselors, in order to offer counseling on conflict resolution and other social issues, to the family.
He also encouraged the Church to organise regular workshops and seminars for families at the various parishes, so as to renew their relationship, and draw them closer to God. – GNA