GCBC Plenary: Bishops of Ghana considering establishment of research departments at National, Arch/dioceses levels

President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), Most Rev. Mathew Gyamfi, has emphasized the need for the Catholic Church in Ghana to take charge of compiling and monitoring its own data including
that on the growth of membership.

The move, according to the Bishop will help address challenges related to the growth of membership and to ensure a more proactive approach to rectifying issues such as declining Catholic population among others within the Church.

This call for a comprehensive data initiative aligns with the Pastoral Guidelines issued at the end of the 2014 National Pastoral Congress, where the bishops recommended specific research at the national and local levels to address the issue of people leaving the Catholic Church for other denominations.

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“In order to take an informed decision to respond to the problem of people leaving the Catholic Church for other churches, we direct that specific research be conducted at the national and local levels by experts to offer proposals for implementation,” highlighted the Pastoral Congress Guidelines (no. 7, page 17). The urgency of this matter was emphasized by Bishop Gyamfi, urging his brother Bishops to give it the necessary attention it deserves during their meeting.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Plenary Assembly of the Ghanaian Bishops, Most Rev. Gyamfi argued that, “Reliance on statistics compiled by the State every ten years does not permit us to rectify any problems that may arise and grow during the period. To respond effectively to the challenges, the Bishops may want to consider setting up a research department at the National Catholic Secretariat and replicate the same office in all Arch/dioceses to collect and monitor their own data on membership and other variables in the Church.”