Cape Coast Archbishop hosts youth seminar on declining Catholic population

by Divine Chidubem

January 31, 2026

in Ghana, News

Reading Time: 1 min read

Cape Coast Archbishop hosts youth seminar on declining Catholic population

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The Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer Buckle, has organised a two-day seminar for Catholic youth to examine concerns about the declining Catholic population in Ghana and the sustainability of youth participation in the Church.

The seminar, held on Friday, 9 January, at St Peter’s Seminary, Pedu, formed part of activities marking the Archbishop’s triple anniversary, his 75th birthday, 49 years of priestly ordination, and 33 years of episcopal ordination as a bishop.

The event brought together priests, past friends, classmates, and members of the Cape Coast Archdiocesan Youth Council (CCADYC) Executive Board for discussions on youth engagement and emerging issues within the Catholic Church.

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Addressing participants, Archbishop Buckle reflected on his own formation within Catholic youth movements such as the Young Christian Students (YCS) and the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS–Pax Romana), noting their role in sustaining faith, discipline, and long-term commitment to the Church. He stressed the need to revive and strengthen traditional Catholic youth groups, including YCS, IMCS–Pax Romana, and the Catholic Youth Organisation (CYO), to better support young people amid changing social realities.

Discussions during the seminar also focused on current debates within the Church, including conversations on social media about declining membership, the use of media in evangelisation, and concerns over waning volunteerism among the youth.

Archbishop Buckle outlined a guiding message for sustaining the Cape Coast Archdiocese towards 2026, urging participants to focus on practical action rather than pessimism. He linked this to the vision of a Synodal Church, emphasising participation, mission, and communion.

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The seminar is expected to contribute to ongoing conversations on youth engagement and Church sustainability in Ghana, as dioceses continue efforts to strengthen the role of young people in Catholic life and mission.

Credit: Pax Boniface, CCADYC PRO

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Discussion about this post

Daily Reading

Saturday of the Twenty-fourth week in Ordinary Time

First Letter to the Corinthians 15,35-37.42-49.

Brothers and sisters : Someone may say, "How... are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?"
You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.
And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind;
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible.
It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful.
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.
So, too, it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being," the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual.
The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven.
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Psalms 56(55),10c-11.12-13.

Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in... whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?

I am bound, O God, by vows to you;
your thank offerings I will fulfill.
For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 8,4-15.

When a large crowd gathered, with people from... one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.
A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold." After saying this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be.
He answered, "Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that 'they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.'
This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God.
Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved.
Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial.
As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit.
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance."

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB
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