The archbishop John Bonaventure Kwofie, of the archdiocese of Accra (Ghana), warned about what he described as a growing influence of homosexuality and the “gay culture” in Catholic seminaries in West Africa, and asked rectors and formators to take “decisive” measures to maintain fidelity to the Church’s teaching in priestly formation.
The prelate spoke his words on Wednesday, January 14, during the opening of the 12th Conference of Rectors of RECOWA (Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa), held at the St. Paul’s Catholic Seminary in Sowutuom, in Accra. From that framework, he insisted on the importance of discernment from the beginning and on the seriousness of the admission stage: a weak formation at entry, he maintained, ends up creating conditions for practices and environments that deform the vocation.
Kwofie spoke in especially harsh terms, describing the phenomenon as something that “grows like a monster” and exhorting to “purge” the seminaries of candidates with that orientation. His argument was not posed as a sociological debate, but as an internal issue of coherence between vocation, discipline of life, and the demands of celibacy itself. In his approach, the acceptance or promotion of a “gay culture” in the formative environment not only contradicts the priestly ideal, but puts at risk the type of human and affective maturity that the Church demands of those preparing for the ministry.
The archbishop linked that warning to the Church’s doctrinal line, emphasizing that, in his view, the position on homosexuality “has not changed” and is sustained in the continuity of the Magisterium. Specifically, he alluded to the 2005 Instruction on vocational discernment criteria regarding persons with homosexual tendencies for their admission to the seminary and holy orders, where it is established that those who practice homosexuality, present “deeply rooted” tendencies, or support the so-called “gay culture” should not be admitted. He also pointed out that those criteria were reaffirmed in 2016 in the Ratio Fundamentalis The Gift of the Priestly Vocation.
The background of the message places the focus on the responsibility of formators as the first line of custody. It does not limit itself to asking for disciplinary vigilance, but a work of selection and accompaniment that ensures a “solid and integral” formation, in line with the motto of the meeting. In that same key, he recognized the weight of the charge that falls on rectors and formative teams, and assured them of support in a task he described as demanding.
The regional conference brings together rectors and formators from various West African countries. In the opening speech, the archbishop set forth a priority that, in his opinion, admits no evasions: if the seminary is the house where the priesthood is forged, the first duty is to protect the authenticity of that formation.