“We are in serious trouble,” Catholic Archbishop Calls for Renewal in Ghana

Accra, 09 October, 2025 / 2:41 AM

The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast has expressed concern over the ecological crisis facing the world today, calling on all the people of God in Ghana to demonstrate care for both humanity and the environment.

In his Wednesday, October 8, speech during a Conference that brought together members of the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious in Ghana (CMSR-Gh), Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle reflected on the current news trends, noting that there’s still so much suffering in the world, especially in Africa.

“I pray to God that we as a Church can perceive in the darkness that we are living today, because the world is in serious trouble. I don't know whether you have been going through the news and the rest of it. We are in serious trouble,” Archbishop Palmer-Buckle said at the event that was held at the Chapel of the Holy Cross Brothers at Brafoyaw in Ghana’s Archdiocese of Cape Coast.

Referring to the president of Ghana, President John Mahama’s speech and other speakers during the 80th United Nations anniversary, the Archbishop emphasized that the “world is in trouble.”

“You listen to what is happening in Israel and in Gaza, what is happening in Sudan, South and North, what is happening in Ghana.There is something really demonic happening,” he said.

The Archbishop cited the destructive effects of illegal mining, known locally as galamsey, as an example of how greed is damaging both human life and creation.

“If you Google Ghana today, you would see that people have done galamsey to the point of the railway line. They have removed all the soil under the railway lines,” he added.

The Archbishop said that galamsey has intensified in Ghana, and that some people are willing to tear down their houses  in search of gold.

In his address at the  event, which was realized under the theme, “ Consecrated Life for Human Rights Protection and Ecological Justice , Hope Does not Disappoint”, urged members of the Institute of Consecrated Life and the Societies  of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL)  to root their actions in the Gospel to solve some of the issues affecting them.

Citing the Gospel of Luke 4:18–19, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle reminded members of the ICLSAL of their mission of serving the poor , saying, “Our mission is to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me because we have been sent, whether you and I like it or not, where you are, you have been sent.”

The Archbishop, who recently turned 75 and has tendered his resignation to Rome as required by Canon Law, also encouraged the faithful to live their mission faithfully and responsibly, even in small matters like punctuality.

“I commend you for your time consciousness. How I wish you could help our Parishes, our churches, our Catholics, and our communities become time conscious, because it is a gift of God that sometimes we abuse,” he said in the event that was attended by Bishop John Alphonse Asiedu of the Donkokrum Vicariate,, members of the ICLSAL, and government officials.

He further urged the participants to pray, share ideas, and support one another so that they could return to their Dioceses empowered as “true pilgrims of hope.”

Reflecting on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary celebrated on October 7, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle urged all members of the ICLSAL to develop a tendency to carry and pray their rosaries everywhere they go.