Ghanaian Bishops to meet Vatican Dicasteries during Ad Limina; Here is why

On Monday, May 22, members of the Ghana Catholic Bishop’s Conference had a meeting with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development as part of their 2023 Ad Limina visit to Rome.

On Tuesday, they are expected to Meet the Discastery of Evangelization. On Wednesday they will meet the  Discastery of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.

On Thursday, May 25, they will meet the Dicastery of Faith, Dicastery of Laity and family as well as the Secretary of State Vatican City.

Why is this important?

The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church. It is responsible for the governance of the Church’s affairs and its various departments are called Dicasteries. The Dicasteries of the Roman Curia are concerned with administrative matters.

The visit of the Bishops to the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia has special significance and importance because of the intimate connection that exists between the Pope and the Curial Offices which are the ordinary instruments of the “Petrine ministry”.

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In the course of their Ad Limina visit, the bishops will meet the various Dicasteries to make known their problems or ask questions, seek information, furnish any clarifications, and respond to possible requests. All of these is to be done in a spirit of communion in truth and in charity.

Before the meetings with the various Dicasteries, the Dicasteries receive in advance information from the quinquennial Report that pertains to their competency. This advanced information given to the Dicastery is to make the meeting with the bishops to be fruitful,

In the light of the communion that exists between the particular Churches and the Roman Church, those bishops who so desire can have one or more meetings with a given Roman parish or with some other particularly significant community, or with centers of religious, cultural and charitable activity in Rome, in order to deepen mutual understanding and to exchange views about pastoral life and experiences, particularly on matters of common interest or concerning similar situations.