Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obeng Codjoe, Parish Priest of St. James Catholic Church in Osu-Accra, has lamented the challenges facing the Catholic Church in Ghana, particularly its inability to unite for significant efforts for evangelization.
Speaking to the congregation on January 26, (Sunday of the Word of God) Fr. Codjoe expressed concern over the lack of collective action within the Church, pointing to a missed opportunity to spread the Word of God to a wider audience.
“We cannot even come together and buy prime time on TV and preach the Word of God,” he said, highlighting the difficulty of national-level projects within the Church. “Any project we do at the national level, it is so difficult for it to work. But if one Diocese said it would do this, it is easier.”
He continued, underscoring the deeper issue of disunity that has been plaguing the Church: “I tell you on the judgment day, we the clergy will receive our lashes first. The Bishops will start and we the Priests will come and the Deacons. Then the parishioners. Because you too, you as Fulton Sheen said, ‘Remind us who we are.'”
Fr. Codjoe stressed that the lack of collaboration is not just a matter of logistics but a spiritual matter. “If we are one, we cannot buy primetime on any good TV station and the preaching that priests have made proclaim to the world for even non-Catholics to know that we are also there, we can’t do it. And we think that it is normal. It is the devil bringing division to this Church. May God save the Church.”
He further called for a return to the foundation of scripture, urging both clergy and laypeople to become “soldiers of Christ” and live out the Word of God in their everyday lives. “The earlier we begin to root ourselves in scripture and become soldiers of Christ and live the Word of God, Ghana as a Church, the better.”
Sunday of the Word of God is an occasion marked in the Catholic Church to emphasize the centrality of scripture in the lives of believers. Instituted by Pope Francis in 2019, this day serves as a reminder to Catholics worldwide to celebrate and reflect on the Word of God, which forms the cornerstone of their faith.
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