Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference Launches Goal Six of Laudato Si’ Action Programme

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has on Thursday, March 16, 2023, launched Goal Six of their Laudato Si’ Action Programme (LSAP) at the National Catholic Secretariat in Accra, Ghana.
The launch which was on the theme Ecological Spirituality, will see the Bishops Conference champion a course in every diocese to protect the environment.

The event included a keynote speech focused on ecological spirituality by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Abbey-Quaye, a lecturer at the St. Peter’s Regional Seminary, Pedu.

Addressing the gathering in his keynote speech, Fr. Abbey-Quaye noted that Pope Francis’ 2015 ecological encyclical, Laudato Si’, addressed the current global ecological crisis, including pollution, climate change, and loss of biodiversity.

He further stated that Pope Francis was inviting Bishops’ Conferences around the world to lead the efforts and conversations in their various dioceses, countries, regions, and territories in addressing the current ecological crisis. He praised the GCBC for not relenting in talking about the Laudato Si’ in all their communiqués and other official documents and statements since its publication in 2015.

He praised the Bishops Conference for consistently addressing the need for the care of the environment in Ghana and beyond since the very beginning of the Bishops’ Conference itself. “The GCBC’s teachings and advocacy on the care of the environment, which date back to the very beginnings of the Bishops’ Conference itself. Since 1965, the GCBC has consistently addressed the need for the care of the environment in Ghana and beyond in numerous communiqués, pastoral letters, and other documents, applying the principles of Catholic Social Teaching such as stewardship and care of creation, intergenerational solidarity, the earth as a common good, and integral ecology” he said.

He also emphasized that the GCBC’s Laudato Si’ Action Plan, launched in November 2021, would put into practical action the Pope’s vision for the care of the environment. “The goal of Laudato Si’ Action Plan is to provide a framework for each diocese, parish, and community to plan for and implement its environmental activities over the next five years,” he stated.

He called on all participants to embrace ecological spirituality, saying, “We must recognize that we are all part of creation and are called to care for it. It is only when we recognize this that we can create a sustainable future for ourselves and for the generations to come.”

The launch of Goal Six of the LSAP ended with participants expressing their willingness to embrace ecological spirituality and work towards achieving the LSAP’s goals.
“The Laudato Si’ Action Programme is a significant step towards creating a sustainable future for Ghana and the world, and it is heartening to see the GCBC taking a leadership role in addressing the global ecological crisis” he added.

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The launch of Goal Six of the LSAP is a positive development in the global effort to address the ecological crisis. With the GCBC leading the way, it is hoped that other Bishops’ Conferences around the world will follow suit in addressing the urgent need for the care of the environment.

The launch was attended by Your Excellency, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast and Chairman of the GCBC Laudato Si’ Action Plan Implementation Committee, other Bishops and Archbishops, The Secretary General of the Bishops Conference and his Assistant, Executive Secretaries, Directors, Coordinators and Staff of the various Departments of National Catholic Secretariat, Mr. Fritz Zuger, Special Guest from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Representatives from the Ministry of Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency.