Catholic Archdiocese in Ghana Seeking to Incorporate Schools as Parish Outstations

Accra, 04 April, 2024 / 3:01 PM

An Auxiliary Bishop for Ghana’s Catholic Archdiocese of Accra has disclosed plans to incorporate learning institutions as outstations for parishes in the Archdiocese to take care of the pastoral needs of school going children.

Speaking to journalists in Accra, Bishop John Kobina Louis said the strategy will target both Catholic and non-Catholic schools in the Archdiocese.

He explained that several Catholic children are not in Catholic schools because they are placed automatically through the computer system.

“We are trying… to make every parish look at the schools within its territory including non-Catholic schools and see them as outstations of the parish and provide pastoral care for them,” Bishop Louis said in a Tuesday, April 2 report.

He added, “We need to advance the mission of the Catholic schools. Many of the Catholic schools, not only in the Archdiocese but across the country, are not able to realize the purpose for which they were established because of government policies.”

The Bishop who was appointed alongside Bishop  Anthony Narh Asare in February last year to assist Archbishop John Bonaventure Kwofie in shepherding the archdiocese said the strategy would enable parishes to provide pastoral care to Catholic students regardless of where they go to school.

Earlier, the 59-year-old Bishop had blamed the dwindling population of Catholics in the West African nation to lack of zeal among priests, noting that many Priests do not strive to create more outstations from their parishes.

“Many Priests hardly attain the establishment of 40 outstations in 40 years of priesthood as no wonder and sadly the Catholic population in Ghana is dwindling.  The number of priests has doubled in the past 40 years while the Catholic population is dwindling,” Bishop Louis said.