By Vincent Mensah
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Rev. Msgr. Seth Osei-Agyemang, Secretary-General of the National Catholic Secretariat, has called for assistance for women in Africa to have an African Catholic Women’s Organisation based on the structure of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
This, he said, would enable women groups to participate fully in issues affecting them in the Church and society.
Msgr. Osei Agyemang put forward 10-point proposals during a three-day lecture sponsored by the Knights and Ladies of Marshall on the theme Women And The Growth of the Church at the Christ the King Parish in Accra to mark the 10th biennial Marshall-Moreau-Murat Memorial Lectures.
The lectures are organized to honour the memories of Sir James Marshall, a Scottish former Anglican Priest, who converted to Catholicism and who fought for the Society of African Missions (SMA) to re-evangelise the former Gold Coast.
Two priests, Rev. Frs. Auguste Moreau and Eugune Murat arrived from St. Helena Islands to re-evangelise the Gold Coast, while Sir James Marshall was immortalized by his name on a society formed in the Gold Coast – Knights of Marshall – to become a Catholic action oriented pressure group for the opening of more Catholic Schools in the country.
Msgr. Osei-Agyemang recalled attempts through the World Union of Catholic Women Orgaisations (WUCWO) to bring the African Region together in Onitsha, Nigeria in 1984 and in Buea in Cameroon in 1989 and in Senegal in 1994.
“These efforts have met with obstacles such as poor communication, expensive and difficult transportation and limited financial resources on the part of women.”
The Secretary-General spoke on the position of women in Scripture; the Church’s official position and efforts that have been made to improve on women’s situation in the Church and the Changing role of women and the growth of the Church in historical perspective.
He dealt with how women had fared towards the growth of the African Church and submitted proposals for consideration.
He called on men to be advocates for women in such issues as just wages, equality of women with men in workplace, equal opportunities for education and the value of parenting and family life.
He said collaborative ministry, if taken seriously, will require parish staffs and Archdiocesan offices to promote the inclusion of women in ministerial work and collegial decision-making.
He said to build a community of collaborative ministry is to build a community characterized by mutual respect for the gifts of its members and an openness to their participation in the life of the community according to those gifts and in accord with the respective status and role of each person.
He asked women to take advantage of the opportunities to participate in those areas of Church life that are legitimately open to them, that invite women to use their gifts for the building up of the body of Christ and for its mission of salvation.
The Church should encourage and affirm the participation of women as Readers of the Word of God, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, Altar Servers, Members of Diocesan and Parish Councils, Team Ministry Participants, Marriage Counsellors, Child and Adult Catechists, Spiritual Directors, participants in Diocesan Synods and collaborators in decision-making.
Msgr. Osei Agyemang explained that because Christ did not include women in his Apostles, women cannot be ordained as Priests, pointing out that at the institution of the Holy Eucharist, even Christ’s mother was not present.
The lectures were chaired by Mrs. Alice M. Agyeman, former Headmistress of Holy Child College, Cape Coast.
In her closing remarks. Mrs. Agyeman called on the Grand Court of the Ladies of Marshall to face challenges specifically addressed to them and help in providing solutions towards getting women organized to play their respective roles in Church activities.
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