GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS THROW LIGHT ON “FRATELLI TUTTI” OF POPE FRANCIS
The members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) are currently in the Wa Diocese, Ghana’s Upper West Region to partake in their 2021 Plenary Assembly which is under the theme: “Frateli Tutti” and COVID-19 Pastoral Opportunities and Challenges in Ghana.”
The week long program which is expected to take place from November 5 to 13 2021 has in attendance active and Emeritus Bishops of all the Dioceses and a Vicariate. In the absence of them, their Vicar Generals are obliged to represent.
The opening ceremony for the plenary was held on Monday, November 8, 2021 where the president of the GCBC Most Rev Philip Naameh delivered a keynote address focusing on the purpose of the Encyclical Letter from Pope Francis and other pertinent issues.
He said the title and spirit of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter, Fratelli Tutti received 3rd October, 2021 were inspired by St. Francis of Assisi. With the Italian words, “Fratelli Tutti”, he explained that Saint Francis of Assisi admonished his Franciscan brothers and sisters to see all human beings, despite their race, nationality, religion, etc. as brothers and sisters. This he said is the inspiration behind Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter which has the theme, ‘fraternity and social friendship.
“The purpose of Fratelli Tutti, according to Pope Francis, is to consider the universal scope of fraternal love and openness to every man and woman”, he further said. he quoted Pope Francis saying “ I offer this social Encyclical as a modest contribution to continued reflection, in the hope that in the face of present-day attempts to eliminate or ignore others, we may prove capable of responding with a new vision of fraternity and social friendship that will not remain at the level of words”.
Another inspiration for the new vision of Fraternity and social friendship was based on the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. The parable he said, eloquently presents the basic decision we need to make in order to rebuild our wounded world. Another lesson he touched on from the parable is that we should become neighbors without borders, remembering that Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in answer to the question: who is my neighbor?
In other words he charged all to put aside their differences and, in the face of suffering, draw near to others with no question asked. In a nutshell, the new vision of social friendship and fraternity must be based on the principle of the God-given dignity of every human person, he added.
Some activities characterizing the Plenary include courtesy calls on political and traditional leaders, visits to the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jirapa, where the Catholic faith of the Upper West Region began and a visit to schools, parishes and Eucharistic celebrations in the region among others.
The plenary would focus on the reality of the pandemic and its influence on human life, especially its impact on the mission of spreading the gospel.
It would also discuss the impact of the pandemic on the socio-economic development, educational, cultural and political development of the country.
Source: DEPSOCOM Accra/E.S.D
