The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) formally opened its 2026 Plenary Assembly on Monday, 9 November, at Our Lady of Grace Senior High School in Mamponteng, in the Konongo-Mampong Diocese, with a call for every baptised Catholic, not only clergy and religious, to take an active part in the life and mission of the Church.

The assembly is meeting under the theme “Communion, Participation and Mission: Preparing the Catholic Church in Ghana for Her 150th Anniversary.” Catholic evangelisation in Ghana dates to the arrival of missionaries in 1880, and the bishops are using this year’s gathering to begin preparing for the 2030 milestone.

Mission not limited to the ordained

In his keynote address, GCBC President Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, Bishop of Sunyani, said evangelisation and service are not the work of bishops, priests and consecrated persons alone, according to ACI Africa. Through Baptism and Confirmation, he said, all the faithful share in Christ’s prophetic, priestly and kingly mission.

He called on the Church to recognise and meaningfully include the contributions of young people, women and men, catechists, teachers, healthcare workers, farmers, traders, persons with disabilities and people on the margins of society in its pastoral life and decision-making.

“The Church does not exist for herself; she exists to proclaim Christ and to make present the saving love of God in the world,” Bishop Gyamfi said, as quoted by ACI Africa. He added that this mission must reach homes, schools, workplaces, hospitals, markets, public institutions and digital spaces.

Ghana Catholic bishops on galamsey, corruption and the constitution

The opening session also turned to national concerns. Bishop Gyamfi urged the bodies leading Ghana’s constitutional review, along with Parliament and the Executive, to put the national interest and broad-based consensus ahead of partisan and institutional considerations.

The host bishop, Bishop John Opoku-Agyemang of Konongo-Mampong, described illegal mining, known locally as galamsey, as one of the gravest threats facing the country. “We continue to face the current war of illegal mining that is destroying our river bodies and environment,” he said, according to ACI Africa. He said some communities in his own diocese are involved in illegal mining and that persuading them to stop has proved difficult. He also raised concerns about corruption, nepotism, unemployment and the rise of self-proclaimed prophets.

According to Noble News and Catholic Trends, other items on the bishops’ agenda include the long-running conflict in Bawku, a reported explosion at Hamile on Ghana’s north-western border, drug abuse, indiscipline in schools and the Human Sexual Rights and Family Bill. The keynote also marked 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Ghana, with a proposal to hold the climax of that jubilee in 2027 alongside Ghana’s 70th independence anniversary.

Laity told to carry the message too

Sir John Kofi Tandoh, National Chairman of the National Catholic Laity Council, Ghana, commended the bishops for speaking on illegal mining, corruption and accountability, and said such interventions should remain distinct from partisan politics. He told lay Catholics that responsibility for speaking and acting on society’s problems does not rest with Church leaders alone.

Why it matters

The bishops’ emphasis on lay participation reflects a wider push in the Catholic Church to involve ordinary believers more fully in its life and decisions. For Ghana’s Christians, the plenary signals that preparations for the 150th anniversary will go hand in hand with continued pressure on leaders over galamsey and governance. The bishops have said a programme of anniversary activities, beginning in 2027, and a closing communiqué will be released at the end of the assembly.

Other Christian voices are engaging the same questions. The Christian Council of Ghana has called for audits and gold traceability in the GoldBod debate, Ghana’s Pentecostal and charismatic leaders are publicly debating fake prophets, and faith remains visible in traditional public life, as a chief’s Bible-carrying palanquin showed in September.

As reported by ACI Africa, Noble News and Catholic Trends. Compiled and edited by the Jesus Social newsroom.

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