Story: George Ernest Asare, Kumasi
THE Most Rev. Thomas Kwaku Mensah was last Saturday installed as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of the Kumasi Diocese of the Catholic Church.
He took over from the Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong, who resigned voluntarily at the age of 75 after 38 years of continuous service to God.
Until his appointment on March 26 by Pope Benedict XVI, the Most Rev Mensah was the Bishop of the Obuasi Diocese and Chairman of the Episcopal Department of Pastoral Care at the National Catholic Secretariat in Accra.
The ceremony was performed on behalf of Pope Benedict by Mongsinio Mark Kadama, Apostolic Pro Nuncio in Ghana, with the assistance of Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Archbishop Emeritus of Kumasi and Most Rev. Lucas Abadamloora, the Bishop of the Navrongo Diocese.
President John Agyekum Kufour and his wife, Theresa, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Emmanuel A. Owusu-Ansah and his Deputy, Mr Osei Asibey Antwi, as well as the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Madam Patricia Appiagyei, were among the dignitaries who graced the ceremony.
The Most Rev. Kwasi Sarpong, who delivered the installation sermon, urged the newly appointed Archbishop to commit himself to the challenges of homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, sexual promiscuity and commercialisation of religion among others, which, he said, were creeping into society, leading many people astray and creating social unrest.
He said it was the responsibility of the church to collaborate with politicians to embark on vigorous evangelisation to spread the word of God to make society to embrace it totally.
This, he said, would go a long way to rid the world of social cankers such as sexual promiscuity and its negative consequences, to help the youth to refrain from indulging in immoral activities, which can eventually destroy their lives.
The Most Rev Sarpong said the church, which faced numerous challenges during its early stages in the country, had not only spread far and wide but had also established six dioceses in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions.
“ We have reached a point where the Church should feed the people with compassion, love, unity, mercy, and tolerance among other virtues, to enhance world peace and understanding,” he said.
For his part, Archbishop Thomas Mensah thanked God for blessing him with the new appointment, saying, “My appointment proves that God does not discriminate in elevating people from grass to grace”.
He pointed out that over the years, the Catholic Church had sought to rid the world of ignorance by establishing educational institutions to facilitate the education of the youth and empower them with the requisite knowledge.
This, he said, was helping them to build their capacity to enable them to support sustainable national development.
He said he would use his office to promote unity and peace in the country to sustain accelerated national development.
“ Unity and peace are indispensable ingredients for national development, so we should not allow ourselves to fall apart by any divisive tendency,” he advised
On behalf of President Kufour and the state, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Emmanuel A. Owusu-Ansah, presented GH¢2000 to the newly appointed Archbishop.
He appealed to the leadership of the Church to continue praying for Ghana, especially at this election period, to ensure that the election was held in an atmosphere devoid of violence.
The Most Rev. Thomas Mensah was born on February 2, 1935 at Asuoho Asaamang and started his basic education at Banso, near Bekwai, from 1944 to 1952 before undertaking a private correspondent course in Typing and Commercial Studies with the Bennett College in England from 1953 to 1958.
Between 1959 and 1960, he entered the preparatory seminary at Jamasi in the Ashanti Region and continued at the St Teresa’s Minor Seminary at Amisano, and later at St Peter’s Regional Seminary at Pedu until 1966.
He completed his priesthood education at the St. Maur’s school of Theology at Indianapolis in the United States of America, where he was ordained by his predecessor, the Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong, on June 3, 1973.
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