The Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed Very Rev. Fr. John Kobina Louis and Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Narh Asare as Auxiliary Bishops of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra.

Very Rev. Fr. Louis, who is currently the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Accra and Very Rev. Fr. Asare, who is also currently the Parish Priest of SS. Anne and Joachim, have been assigned the Titular Seas of Fessei (Fesseitanus) and Castello di Numidai (Cestellanus in Numidia), pr. Numidia respectively.

The Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, His Excellency Henryk Mieczysław Jagodziński announced the appointments at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra on Tuesday, 14th February 2023, which was welcomed by the Priests, Religious and the Lay faithful gathered with joy and gladness.

Source: Radio Angelus

The Holy Father Pope Francis has appointed Very Rev. Fr. Samuel Nkuah as the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wiawso in Ghana’d Western North Region .

Until his appointment, he was the Administrator of the Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral.

The announcement of the appointment was made at the Vatican by the Holy Father on January 26, 2023 and simultaneously at the National Catholic Secretariat and at Wiawso by the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Most Rev. Henryk Mieczysaw Jagodziski.

He succeeds Most Rev. Joseph Francis Kweku Essien, who has served in the position for the past 28 years. The appointment also means that Pope Francis has accepted Bishop Essien’s resignation from office and pastoral care of the Wiawso Diocese.

He was born on May 6, 1968 at Sefwi Bosomoiso. He attended the St. Teresa’s Minor Seminary at Amisano, in the Archdiocese of Cape Coast, and St. Peter’s Regional Major Seminary at Pedu, also  in Cape Coast.

Bishop-Elect Nkuah Boateng has served in many capacities. He was ordained priest on July 28, 2001.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology and religious studies from the University of Ghana.

He has held the following offices: Parochial Vicar of the Immaculate Conception, in Enchi (2001-2003); Secretary to the Bishop of Wiawso (2003-2008); Rector of Saint Mary’s, in Dwinase (2003-2009); Parish Priest of Saint Augustine in Sefwi Boako (2009-2011).

He was Director of the pastoral and formation centre (2009-2018); Administrator of the Cathedral of Wiawso (2011-2018); and President of the Association of Diocesan Priests (2012-2020). He then studied for a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education at the Catholic University of Ghana (2015-2017), and a Master’s Degree in Philosophy (2018-2020).

Since 2009, he has been a member of the College of Consultors and the Presbyteral College; since 2020, he has served as Director of the Centre for Pastoral Ministry and Formation, Coordinator of the Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace, and Administrator of the Cathedral of Wiawso.

Bishop-Elect Samuel Nkuah-Boateng was born on 6th May, 1968 at Sefwi Bosomoiso near
Sefwi Wiawso in the Western North Region of Ghana.

He was ordained a priest on 28th July, 2001.

EDUCATION

Bishop-Elect Samuel Nkuah-Boateng holds a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) Degree in Conflict, Human Rights and Peace Studies from the University of Education at Winneba, -2018-2020.

He also holds Masters Degree in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education from the Catholic University College at Fiapre in Sunyani, 2015-2017. He holds Post Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Coast, 1998-2000 and he as well holds Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Sociology and Study of Religion from the University of Ghana, Legon 1994-1998.

Bishop-Elect  Nkuah-Boateng holds a Certificate of Ordination in respect of the study of Spirituality and Philosophy, and Theology at St. Paul’s Catholic Seminary in Accra and St. Peter’s Regional Seminary in Cape Coast Respectively, 1990-1999.

He holds a Certificate of Participation in Education on Child Protection for Pastoral Workers at St. Kizito Pastoral Centre, Apowa-Takoradi-2016. Fr. Nkuah- Boateng further holds Certificate of Completion of the Professional Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at the Marian Conflict Resolution Centre at the Catholic University College of Ghana, Sunyani-2015.

He holds West Africa Examinations Council School Certificate (O’ Level and Advanced Level Certificate (A’ Level), all at St. Teresa’s Minor Seminary, Amisano, Elmina-1985-1993.
Fr. Nkuah-Boateng attended Primary School at Bosomoiso Roman Catholic Primary and
a Middle School Bosomoiso D/C, all at Sefwi Bosomoiso near Sefwi Wiawso.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
He worked as a teacher in Kobri School Complex, and Sefwi Wiawso Senior High School both at Sefwi Wiawso, 2000-2001. He served as an Adjunct Teacher at St. Joseph Senior High School, Sefwi Wiawso, Ghana- 2009-2011.

APPOINTMENTS / WORK
Bishop-Elect Nkuah-Boateng worked as an Assistant Priest at Immaculate Conception Parish, Enchi- 2001-2002. He afterwards served as Secretary to the Catholic Bishop of Wiawso and at the same time worked as a Rector of St. Mary Rectorate at Sefwi Dwinase- 2003-2008.
He was later appointed as the Parish Priest of St. Augustine Parish, Sefwi Boako- 2009-2011.

He has been a member of the College of Consultors of the Catholic Diocese of Wiawso from the year 2009 till date. He is a member of the Council of Priests (senate) for the Catholic Diocese of Wiawso from the year 2009 till date.

He was appointed as the Cathedral Administrator of the Wiawso Diocese from the year 2011-2018. He had a break for studies from 2018-2019 and afterwards he was reappointed as the Cathedral Administrator of Wiawso from the year 2020 till date.

He worked as the Director of the Diocesan Pastoral and Formation Centre, Sefwi Datano via Wiawso, – 2009-2018, and after he resumed from his break he was still reappointed as the Director of the Diocesan Pastoral and Formation Centre at Sefwi Datano near Wiawso 2020—till date.

He served as the President of the Wiawso Diocesan Priests’ Association- 2012-2020 and the Diocesan Coordinator of the Justice and Peace Commission- 2020-till date. Since the creation of the Wiawso Deanery in the year 2020, he has served as the Dean of Wiawso Deanery till date.

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has added its voice to calls on government to take steps to find solutions that are less burdensome on Ghanaians including the proposed domestic debt restructuring programme which the Bishops described as lacking consensus.

“We are troubled that the position so far adopted by government lacks consensus, resulting in the strong reactions witnessed in the recent past,” the Catholic Bishops stated in a press release on January 27, 2023.

Signed by its President, the Most Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, the release said “We wish to observe however that, the far-reaching consequences of the proposed domestic debt restructuring programme on the financial sector (banks and insurance companies in particular), and the cascading implications on individual holders of government instruments, once believed to be the safest investments, are too damaging, not only for investors but also their effects on the bargaining power of households and on the poor.”

The Bishops said, they have been  following with keen interest and concern, recent happenings in the country on the economic front and its impact on Ghanaians and according to them, the strong resistance to the debt restructuring from domestic resources to meet the IMF bailout conditions is a natural response from those directly or indirectly affected.

“The options for government to resolve the economic crisis appear limited,” the Bishops noted, adding  “We therefore hold the position that, given the issues that have arisen with government’s resort to an IMF ballout, and the mistrust it has garnered, does not make the domestic debt restructuring option appear viable.”

“Urgent situations call for urgent actions,” said the Bishops, calling on government to consider involving all stakeholders, particularly individual and financial institutions directly affected, and carry them along in addressing the problem.

They urged government to vigorously pursue some debt forgiveness and/or deferment, where feasible so that if at all, the domestic debt restructuring burden could be reduced drastically and its impact on stakeholders minimised.

To win the international community over in pursuit of this, the Bishops were of the view that government must present a posture that is consistent with the fact that the country is in dire straits or crisis.

These, according to them, should include but certainly not limited to avoiding the reported expected expenditure overruns in the 2023 Budget; drastic government expenditure control by reducing the number of government appointees; suspending non-essential projects; and a review of the free SHS policy.

“While we expect government to consider these suggestions, we humbly appeal to Ghanaians to appreciate the current economic situation and understand that there will be difficulties in the coming months while the problem is solved permanently,” the press release added.

It is the hope of the Bishops that the suggestions would help in no small way to alleviate the pressure on domestic revenue generation challenges with the IMF bailout condition, if it has to be continued.

Below is the Press Release

GCBC PRESS RELEASE0001_230127_161538