(Bishop of Keta-Ho, Ghana)
At the announcement of this Synod of Bishops for Africa, it has been the prayer of the entire Catholic Church of Ghana that it succeeds. In the light of the multiple socio-political, economic and tribal forces, both within and without, that beset the African continent, our people hopefully welcome this great and historic event, as a new Pentecost.
The Ghana Bishops' Conference expresses its thanks to the Lord for the continued growth of the Church in Africa: in membership and in vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. The Catholic Church has made its presence felt in the socio-economic, political and religious lives of the people. Its prophetic voice has never been silenced, even if it is that of a minority; and it has championed the cause of the poor and the oppressed, and defended their rights.
Against this background, and in the setting of the Synod the following problems may be addressed:
1) Evangelisation in the context of ethnic conflicts. How best can the African Church carry out her evangelising mission in the face of ethnic and religious pluralism and conflicts.
2) Formation of the agents of evangelisation. To bring about effective evangelisations, there is a need to redesign formation programmes for the ministers of evangelisation.
3) Ecclesiastical Institutes of Higher Studies in Africa. There is also a need for higher learning and research into issues and problems which concern local African Churches.
4) Development of human and material resources. Evangelisation must take into account the needs of those who are being evangelised. Hence, there is the need to educate people to be self-supporting. However, it may require the help of richer and benevolent agencies to realise such self-supporting programmes.
In the end, the success of this Synod depends largely on how well its deliberations will be implemented. We, consequently, recommend mandatory National and Diocesan Synods within four years of the final celebration of this Synod.
Original
text: English
