‘Support Catholic priests to deal with loneliness’
The Dean of the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University College of Ghana, Fiapre, Rev. Monsignor (Msgr) Prof. Stephen Ntim, has called for the formation of strong support groups for Catholic priests as a means to help them deal with the challenge of loneliness.
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He said the issue of loneliness and isolation, which were part of the priesthood, could be “daunting and wear us out”.
He said because of that, some priests fell into self-pity which he described as very dangerous.
Rev. Msgr Prof. Ntim made the statement when he delivered the keynote address at the 26th biennial congress of the National Union of Ghana Diocesan Priests Association (NUGDPA) which took place at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) last Tuesday.
He explained that loneliness, celibacy, low remuneration and heavy workload were some of the challenges facing priesthood in the Catholic Church.
The event was on the theme: ‘NUGDPA @40: the Joys and Challenges of the Catholic Priesthood.’
Challenges
He said psychologically, feelings of self-pity led to certain risky behaviours that were diametrically opposite and not in agreement with Christian values and specifically priesthood.
He explained that self-pity made some priests find justification for scandalous and sinful behaviours.
Rev. Msgr Prof. Ntim has, therefore, urged Catholic priests and dioceses of the church to cultivate support groups among priests at meetings of priests, the deanery, the diocese and at the provincial and national levels.
Otherwise, he noted, “Isolation and loneliness which are part of the nature of priesthood can become daunting and wear us out.”
He said this was because in addition to immediate biological families, it was with other clergy that priests could forget about their difficulties and truly be themselves.
Workload
According to him, the first challenge priests face is with workload. He said unlike other professionals who had time schedules in the line of their work, priests did not and could be called upon at any time of the day to attend to parishioners who might be in one difficulty or another.
He said such demands on the priests which did not fit into any schedule deprived them of their privacy. “The priest can be called at any time without any appointment and he cannot refuse,” he stated.
He said even though they were in the world, they were not of the world and as such could not do things that ordinary people did and took for granted.
Joys
Rev. Msgr Prof. Ntim asserted, “It is a fact that the Catholic priesthood faces many challenges but it is also real that the priesthood is equally fulfilling.”
According to him, many research studies conducted in many parts of the world, including Africa “reveal that many priests, while acknowledging the difficulty of the priesthood, also equally admit that the priesthood is fulfilling.”
He said a study conducted in the United States (US) among priests and non-priests to measure their psychological and spiritual health over a five-year period indicated, “Priests scored better than their lay counterparts.”
He said the studies measured variables such as ‘depression’, ‘anxiety’ and ‘general psychological health’.
Rev. Msgr Prof. Ntim said the priests also reported higher rates of close friendship with other clergy more than the laity did among themselves.
Fraternal messages
The Grand Lady of the Ladies of Marshall, Most Respected Lady Sis. Alice Ayebi, on behalf of the lay people, congratulated the union on achieving 40 years, assuring the priests of support from the laity in all that they do.
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On behalf of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, she presented an amount of GH¢ 4,000 to the association in support of its congress.