Problems and Prospects of the Search for a Catholic Spiritual Tradition in the Ghanaian Catholic Pastoral Ministry

Today, Christianity has become the most popular and fast-growing religion in Ghana. Paradoxically, the Christian Church, in whatever form it has taken, has, for a complexity of reasons, basically remained a weak church with a weak foundation. This work discusses, from a theologico-cultural anthropological perspective, some of the ecclesial and social processes and factors that, the author believes, are responsible for the creation of this paradox in the case of the Ghanaian Catholic Church and demonstrates how they influence the search for a Catholic spiritual tradition in it.

The author, Rev. Fr. Dr. Norbert Okoledah D. K, a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Jasikan, Ghana, was ordained into pastoral ministry in 1997, and has worked in a parish as an associate pastor for one year before embarking on further studies at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany, where he obtained a Doctor of Theology degree. He is also a holder of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Study of Religions from the University of Ghana, Legon.