Addressing the delegates from all over Ghana at the Alfons Mertens Centre in Donkorkrom, in the Kwahu Afram Plains, Eastern Region of Ghana, for the Annual Conference of the National Union of Ghana Catholic Catechists Association (NUGCCA), from August 21 to 24, 2025, he said the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom has a unique history as an ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
The Conference was on the theme: “Our Call to Care for the Environment: A Divinely Assigned Responsibility,” which happens to be the same theme chosen for this year’s Catechetical Week.
According to Bishop Asiedu, the Vicariate started as a mission under the then Accra Diocese and later grew to be a Parish out of which other Parishes emerged. It later came under the Koforidua Diocese, and in 2007, became a Prefecture with then Very Rev. Gabriel Edoe Kumordji, SVD, as the first Apostolic Prefect. It was elevated to a Vicariate on April 17, 2010, with the elevation of Fr. Kumordji as the first Apostolic Vicar with the status of a Bishop.
“He was transferred to Keta-Akatsi Diocese in 2017 and I succeeded him in May 2019,” he recounted.
According to the Chief Shepherd, the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom is the youngest and smallest ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Ghana. It has 8 parishes on the mainland and 1 lake mission with island communities along the Volta Lake. In all, there are 23 priests (14 diocesans and 9 religious-7SVDs and 2 Spiritans), 20 female religious from 3 Congregations (SSpS, SMMC, MSHR), and 1 SVD Brother working in the Vicariate. There are over 70 catechists helping in the evangelizing mission in the Vicariate, out of which only six are women.
He said it is coterminous with the two administrative districts of Kwahu Afram Plains North and South. The area forms a beautiful peninsula bounded by three main water bodies: the Volta Lake, the Afram River, and the Obosum River.
“Sadly, we are losing this wonderful and beautiful, serene landscape due to devastating human activities,” the Bishop lamented, stating that the area suffers severely from continuous bush burning and indiscriminate cutting of trees for timber and the burning of charcoal.
“The entire Afram Plains area, which used to be a thriving cocoa-growing area, is now depleted of its forest cover and economic trees, affecting the rainfall pattern and causing untold hardship to the inhabitants who are mainly peasant farmers and engaged in rain-fed agriculture,” he bemoaned.
The migration of Fulani herdsmen into the Vicariate has been on the ascendency since the vegetation supports animal life, but, regrettably, that also comes with the negative effects of the destruction of farms, and often causes clashes between the herdsmen and the farmers, he pointed out.
Bishop Asiedu bemoaned that the Kwahu Afram Plains, and for that matter, the Vicariate of Donkorkrom, remained one of the poorest, underdeveloped, and most deprived areas in Ghana.
“It is confronted with a poor road network, rampant robbery attacks on our roads, lack of employment, a high illiteracy rate, emigration of the youth into the cities in search of employment and higher education, whilst public workers resist posting to the place because the area is deprived, and many more. All of these affect lay leadership in the Church,” he lamented.
He lauded the Vicariate’s Department of Social Communication (DEPSOCOM) for its efforts in projecting the Vicariate to the outside world, despite the many challenges and difficulties on the terrain. “Thanks to our active and vibrant Vicariate DEPSOCOM, which is effectively working to project the Vicariate on the map of the Catholic world by their reportage, videos, write-ups, and pictures featuring the pastoral activities going on in the Vicariate,” he appreciated.
Adding, he noted with satisfaction that for some time now, important information and stories about the Vicariate were frequently uploaded on the Vicariate’s website (avdonkorkrom.org) for the general public to access, as a way of expanding the evangelization frontiers of the growing local Church.
The Bishop further underscored that the pastoral activities within the Vicariate are essentially geared towards primary evangelization, with Parish Pastoral ministry, Health Care delivery, Education, and Social Works featuring prominently.
He strongly commended the strong pastoral team of Priests, Consecrated Men and Women, Catechists, and other Lay leaders for their selflessness, dedication, love, and enthusiasm for the apostolate of the Vicariate.
“The being and actions, the way of life and activities of some of these pastoral agents, serve as effective catalysts in projecting the achievements, progress and potentials of the Catholic Mission in the Vicariate,” he affirmed, adding that “slowly but certainly, people are beginning to see the Kwahu Afram Plains in a different light, to the extent of even falling in love with the place”.
Touching on the Catechists Conference at the August 22, 2025, opening ceremony, the Bishop revealed that the theme for the Conference, “Our Call to Care for the Environment: A Divinely Assigned Responsibility, was both “timely and timeless”.
For him, it was a great opportunity for the Catechists to learn from one another, within the few days of their gathering, especially as they reflected on topics such as Man’s Abuse of the Environment and its Implications, Restoring and Sustaining the Environment with special emphasis on the Catechists’ Role.
As the Eucharist is celebrated, “the whole cosmos gives thanks to God… The Eucharist joins Heaven and Earth, it embraces and penetrates all creation,” (Laudato Si, 236) he declared, reminding the catechists that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Encyclical Laudato Si of Pope Francis.
In that regard, and following the Decree from the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome, the Ghanaian Bishops had issued a letter on August 20, 2025, for Mass to be celebrated for the Care of God’s Creation on September 1.
The National Director for Catechesis, Very Rev. Fr. Christopher Vordzorgbe delve into some of the topics discussed at the Conference as Man’s Responsibility towards Creation; Man’s Abuse to God’s Creation through poor Agricultural practices and their Implications; Man’s Abuse of Creation through Extractive activities; The Spirit of indifferentism: A challenge to our Stewardship; Restoration and Maintenance of the Exploited creation of God.
Underlining the challenge of participation of the faithful in the discussions over the years, he suggested that this year, other means could be devised to involve them, for instance, the Societies in the Church could decide to take up a topic, each during their meetings, and so doing, they would have been able to cover all the topics over several weeks.
Similarly, the Priests could take it upon themselves to handle the different topics on Sundays, since that is the only day in the week when many Christians come to Church. They could compress the homily enough to find some space to take at least one topic each Sunday; that way, the message will spread more easily and faster.
He further encouraged his brother Priests to come up with other innovative ways that could help ensure that the faithful truly get the teachings of this year’s Catechetical Week’s celebrations.
Dignitaries present at the Opening Ceremony were: Supt. Andreas Kordzo Mifetu, District Police Commander for Donkorkrom, Mr. Theo-Thad Mor-Sarcoh, Chairman of the Vicariate Education Council, who also chaired the ceremony, Mr. Mathew Robinson Apudego, Member of the Vicariate Education Council, Mr. Micheal Djan, Vicariate Laity Council Chairman, who doubles as the Accra Provincial Laity Chairman, and Vice National Chairman, representatives of various Church Groups and Societies, who presented Goodwill Messages on the occasion.
Also present were some Catechists’ Directors from various Dioceses and some Priests of the Vicariate. All Saints Choir of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral was present to animate during the ceremony, among others.
The planning and execution of the Annual event had been championed by Very Rev. Fr. Leopold Ettuh, Chancellor of the Vicariate and Vicariate Director of Catechetics, together with Rev. Fr. Solomon Gbeglo Amedorme, Acting Director of the Alfons Merten’s Centre, Donkorkrom.
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR
Source: newswatchgh.com
