[Opinion] Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu, FGA: Modelling a learned ministry for Ghana’s Catholic clergy today – Part 1

Introduction

On Tuesday, November 11, 2025, while most Catholic media focused on Damongo, covering the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) plenary assembly in the Savannah regional capital, an important event for the church took place at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences auditorium in Accra.

Most Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu, Emeritus Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Konongo-Mampong, was inducted as a fellow into the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), alongside five others. This momentous occasion, which Bishop Osei Bonsu reportedly described as the highest professional destination in their careers, is a source of pride and inspiration for the entire Catholic Church in Ghana.

The reputation of the GAAS, founded in 1959 on the initiative of the country’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, confirms Bishop Osei Bonsu’s remarks. Worldwide, it is no mean feat to face peer-review scrutiny and emerge worthy of membership into a nation’s highest body of scholars.

For those who know Bishop Osei-Bonsu, particularly some teachers from his formative years, such as Fr. Gerard Bles, SMA, and Archbishop Emeritus Peter Sarpong, his achievements will come as no surprise. Both priestly formators described the honouree to this writer as a brilliant student. Bishop Osei-Bonsu’s penchant for scholarship is evident to this day.

His rigorously researched, insightful and timely responses to questions on the Catholic faith and morals, as posed on the platform, “Ask Bishop Bonsu,” testify to his assiduous quest to know and share knowledge. Particularly admirable is his characteristic promptness in addressing questions, frequently providing overnight answers to complex doctrinal and disciplinary concerns raised about the Catholic Church. His specific scholarly achievements, such as his books, The Inculturation of Christianity in Africa and Understanding the Mass, are a testament to his dedication and intellectual prowess.

It is to our church’s honour and credit that we have such a fine scholar drawn from her priestly ranks, now enrolled in our nation’s premier learned society, together with Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Emeritus Archbishop of Kumasi, and Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Individually and collectively, along with other erudite Catholic clergy, they exemplify the intellectual dimension of priestly ministry in contemporary Ghanaian Catholicism. Due to his recent accomplishment, Bishop Osei-Bonsu serves as a suitable and relevant point of departure for examining the pertinence of scholarship for today’s Catholic clergy.

An established intellectual heritage versus the apparent dearth of clerical scholarship

Numbering only three, the Catholic clergy inducted into Ghana’s academic hall of fame may appear insignificant. Yet, the robust intellectual output of Christian clergy from various denominations, attaining levels of distinction in our nation’s life, is irrefutable. Limiting our focus to the GAAS, in addition to the previously named Catholic clerics, some ministers from other Christian denominations, such as the Methodist, Anglican and Presbyterian churches, have been inducted as fellows.

These include Rev. Prof. Christian G. Baëta (Presbyterian), Rev. Prof. Kwesi A. Dickson (Methodist), Rev. Prof. Kwame Bediako (Presbyterian), Rev. Canon Prof. John S. Pobee (Anglican), Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante (Methodist), and Most Rev. Prof. J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu (Methodist).

The intellectual achievements of these Catholic clergy, along with those of their counterparts from other denominations, are a testament to their dedication and scholarly commitment, and they deserve our utmost appreciation and respect. Moreover, viewed comprehensively, Ghana’s Catholic clergy representation in the GAAS is not paltry after all.

There is also a broader range of scholarly commitment that Catholic clergy have engaged in and continue to pursue in ways that lie beyond the scope of the GAAS benchmarks. Public intellectual debate on wide-ranging topics is a notable example. In this vein, one can cite Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle, whose scholarly engagement dates to the 1980s. This writer recalls a certain Fr. Palmer-Buckle intellectually sparring with Vincent Asiseh on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s television programme “About Life”, a show known for its in-depth discussions on social and philosophical issues, and occasionally appearing on Sunday evenings’ “Talking Point”, a programme that featured prominent public figures discussing topical questions. The trend of public intellectual engagement by Catholic clergy continues unabated, as clerics such as Frs. Michael Mensah, Joseph Blay, OFM Conv., and Michael Quaicoe exemplify today. Similarly enduring and admirable are the intellectual exertions of Catholic clergy who teach, research, and publish under the auspices of universities and other tertiary institutions as lecturers, as well as a few freelancers who publish both academic papers and popular writing on diverse online and print platforms.

Despite the illustrious past and present of scholarly engagement by Roman Catholic priests, it is important to acknowledge that there is a considerable dearth of scholarship among contemporary Roman Catholic clergy. The challenges and pressures that most clergy face in their daily responsibilities may indeed hinder their scholarly pursuits. It is crucial to understand these challenges and work towards addressing this deficit, with the understanding that there is always room for improvement.

Roman Catholic priesthood: A call to a learned ministry 

Before proceeding further, it is vital to establish the foundations of the place of learning in the priestly life and ministry, especially to any naysayers who contend that scholarship constitutes a departure from a cleric’s core mandate.

Some may also distinguish between priestly types and argue that a particular category of priests, for instance, the religious of the Dominican or Jesuit orders, are scholars while others are not. Although there may be some justification for the view that some priestly clusters are strongly oriented to and foster scholarship, thereby typically scholarly, this does not thereby negate the fundamental significance of learning in the life and ministry of all Catholic priests.

A typical conversation on priestly formation with an average first-year major seminarian would likely have him referencing Pastores Dabo Vobis, the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II on the formation of priests in the circumstances of the present day. Characteristically, the seminarian would further highlight the four areas of priestly formation specified in that document: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral.

Given this article’s focus, it is germane to consider what Pope John Paul II writes about intellectual formation. He remarks:  “The present situation is heavily marked by religious indifference, by a widespread mistrust regarding the real capacity of reason to reach objective and universal truth, and by fresh problems and questions brought up by scientific and technological discoveries. It strongly demands a high level of intellectual formation, such as will enable priests to proclaim, in a context like this, the changeless Gospel of Christ and to make it credible to the legitimate demands of human reason.

Moreover, there is the present phenomenon of pluralism, which is very marked in the field not only of human society but also of the community of the Church herself. It demands special attention to critical discernment: It is a further reason showing the need for an extremely rigorous intellectual formation. Remarkably, Pastores Dabo Vobis was published in 1992; thus, the scientific and technological discoveries the Holy Father alludes to appear negligible when compared with those of contemporary society, marked by unbridled secularism, the eruption of the digital revolution and the rise of artificial intelligence.

Furthermore, to those who consider learning a distraction to the priestly office, Pope John Paul II unambiguously asserts: “It is necessary to oppose firmly the tendency to play down the seriousness of studies and the commitment to them”. Indeed, learning is integral to priestly life and ministry. If anything, it is an overemphasis on scholarship that is a problem for priests.

This inclination is frequently coupled with an inordinate desire for recognition and honour on account of a cleric’s academic attainments, noticeable in the insistence on acknowledging honorifics, such that beyond purely academic contexts, a priest feels the need to be introduced as “Rev. Fr. Dr Dr Ashimashi, PhD, STD, MPhil, BA (Hons) First Class”.

This absurdity, which usually betrays some underlying psychological insecurity, falls at one end of the spectrum. The priest who has not glanced through a book since his final year of theology, is more familiar with digital television channels than with hot-button social and theological concerns, and for whom magazines and reviews such as The Catholic Messenger and The Tablet constitute coffee-table decorations, exemplifies the spectrum’s other end. Regrettably, these caricatured types exist among both religious and diocesan priests.

Fortunately, the Aristotelian mean – in medio virtus stat, to wit, virtue lies in the middle – is an invaluable principle all Catholic priests know and can aspire to, not least in what pertains to scholarship. Whatever recognition and laurels deriving from assiduously and prudently exercising the intellectual aspect of one’s priestly vocation thereby constitute an offshoot and unintended consequence of a cleric’s quest for excellence, in the manner demonstrated by the likes of Bishop Osei-Bonsu.

To Be Continued….