KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE CATHOLIC TEACHERS’ SEMINAR-ELMINA DEANERY

THEME: CATHOLIC EDUCATION: THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL TEACHER, A GOOD SHEPHERD IN OUR CONTEMPORARY TIME

GIVEN BY V. REV. FR. EMMANUEL ABBEY-QUAYE, Ph.D.

AT ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH, ELMINA – SSNIT ON JANUARY 31, 2025

Greetings

Dr. in the Chair, V. Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Annan, Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast, V. Rev. Fr. Anthony Enyinful, Rector of the St. Joseph Minor Basilica, Elmina, Mrs. Diana Quao, Regional Manager of the Catholic Education Unit, Cape Coast, Rev. Frs. and Sisters, Members of the Association of Catholic Teachers (ACT) and other Teachers here present, Cherished Invited Guests & Dignitaries, all protocol duly observed, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I bring you warm greetings of peace and blessing this morning from St. Peter’s Regional Seminary, Pedu, and I thank you one and all for the invitation not only to participate in this year’s celebration of the annual Catholic Education Week (the Jubilee Year edition) but also to give the Keynote Address on the theme chosen for this year’s celebration, namely, Catholic Education, The Catholic School Teacher: A Good Shepherd in our Contemporary Time”.

Dr. in the Chair, I consider the above-mentioned theme not only appropriate but also very opportune so that we can all have a conversation around Catholic school education in our contemporary times and the role of the Catholic school teacher in this. With this said, I wish to approach the topic before us by following the format or scheme outlined below: –

1. 1. Education in General and Catholic Education in Particular
2. The Catholic School: Its Essential Characteristics/Features
3. 3. The Catholic School Teacher: Who is He/She?
4. The Catholic School Teacher as a Good Shepherd vi-a-vis Qualities Needed
5. 5. Some Few Recommendations or Proposals
6. Conclusion
7. Education in General and Catholic Education in Particular

Education is considered the best-known instrument or process for moulding citizens in the right manner for personal and national development. As part of her social agenda, the Catholic Church has over the years actively participated or engaged in the enterprise of providing quality, affordable, and accessible education to all manner of peoples across the world.

In Ghana, the Catholic Church has played a leading role in the education of citizens, especially the young. From the time of Frs. Eugene Moreau and Auguste Murat, that is, from the1880s, to the present, the Church has never ceased exploring avenues to provide and enhance education. From her own resources and with the support of foreign aid, the Church has built and maintained many schools and other educational centres spanning the entire spectrum of formal education, namely, Pre-school, Primary, Junior High, Senior High, Vocational and Technical, Teacher Training, and University. To these, one can add the seminaries, both Minor and Major. To her credit, all these educational institutions offer the best quality education one can boast of. It is thus of little wonder that Catholic schools are the preferred places of choice for most parents in Ghana.

2. The Catholic School: Its Essential Characteristics/Features

During their 2004 Ad limina visit to the Rome, Pope St. John Paul II told some members of the United States’ Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) what Catholic institutions are and should be. While addressing the bishops, the saintly pope said among others, “It is of utmost importance … that the Church’s institutions be genuinely Catholic, Catholic in their self-understanding and Catholic in their identity.” Taking a cue from the pope’s statement, it is evident that the most important task for Catholic schools and other institutions is to maintain and continually strengthen their Catholic identity. The question then is: What is the nature of the identity of a Catholic School?

Here, I shall examine the nature of the identity of Catholic schools as discussed by Sir Fosuaba Mensah Banahene, a former Administrator of the GETFUND during the time of President Kufour who offers five essential characteristics constituting what is known as Catholic School Identity.

1. Inspired by a Supernatural Vision

The Church’s purpose of education is to give boys and girls a formation that will make them good citizens of their country and the world, while loving God and their neighbor and enriching society with the leaven of the gospel. This supernatural aspect of Catholic school identity should not be sacrificed for any other good since the supernatural vision of Catholic education is the fulcrum around which all others revolve. In sum, Fosuaba Mensah Banahene argues that Catholic school education is not merely an instrument for the acquisition of information and skills that will increase the chances of worldly success and comfortable standard of living but much more importantly, an instrument for the formation of the mind, heart and spirit for the love of God and neighbour.

2. Perfecting the Natural Dimension/Order

Flowing from above, it must be stressed that Catholic school education provides for the intellectual, moral and emotional well-being of the individual student so that they will become fully human, exercising their best potential and talent for the common good. In other words, Catholic schools provide children with the capacity to assume a comprehensive way of life. This Christian anthropology of Catholic school education is meant to direct us to have an educational philosophy founded on the correct understanding of who the human person is, namely, a child of God with intellect, freedom and inalienable rights. It is with such understanding that children placed in schools can attain the height of their divine purpose.

3. Fostering Community and Communion

A Catholic School is one that fosters an identity of community and communion. It creates a group driven by faith and purpose who do things in common as in a family. It enhances teamwork and collaboration not only among teachers and between teachers and students but also between members of the school, the Church in the Diocese and the larger society. A true Catholic School should therefore have a physical environment that speaks of its nature and purpose to the student even before they are fully integrated. In this respect, external signs such as a chapel, crucifix and other sacramental images and icons should be evident in the physical environment. Above all, prayer which brings all together should be a normal part of a typical school day in Catholic schools.

4. The Curriculum Must Portray a Catholic Worldview

In a typical Catholic School, the curriculum should reflect the Catholic worldview or logical structure. Simply stated, the spirit of Catholicism should permeate the curriculum. The curriculum should depict integral development of the student intellectually, physically, morally and religiously as espoused by the Church. In keeping with the tradition of Catholicism, the curriculum should include courses that lead students to discover for themselves what is Truth assisting them to know what their duties are towards God and neighbour. In other words, Catholic education is one which enables persons to transform culture in the light of the gospel. In summary, the curriculum should be such that students would be given sound religious instructions to enable them to live their faith.

5. Tone of Gospel Witnessing

As Pope Francis rightly points out, Catholic education is also a means of evangelization, that is, bearing witness to the joy of the Gospel and its power to renew our communities and to provide hope and strength to face the challenges of our time. A Catholic school must therefore be engulfed in an atmosphere of gospel witnessing. Teachers and administrators of Catholic schools need to create a climate in which by their own examples, students will be inspired to hold on to their Catholic faith and become themselves witnesses to others. In Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI draws our attention to the fact that, “Modern man listens more to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” (Paul VI, Evangelium Nuntiandi, 41).  Archbishop Michael J. Miller, reinforces this view when he articulates that, “Children will pick up far more by the example of their educators than masterful pedagogical techniques…”

To sum it all up, the identity of the Catholic school is one marked by the above-mentioned five characteristics, namely, inspired by supernatural vision, perfecting the natural order, enhancing community and communion, the curriculum portrays a Catholic worldview, and the atmosphere contains a tone for gospel witnessing. A good Catholic school must portray all these values.

3. The Catholic School Teacher. Who is He/She?

In my own definition, a Catholic teacher is a baptised Catholic who is a communicant, who loves and is proud of his or her faith as a Catholic and who strives daily to live his or her faith practically in their chosen vocation as teacher. Besides, a Catholic school teacher is also one who knows his identity, dignity and worth as a teacher and who loves his profession, and the children placed under his/her care to whom he or she plays the role of a mentor. The Catholic school teacher understands that his/her job is not just to impart knowledge or communicate information to students but also and more importantly, to be a model, that is, an example for all the students under their care and tutelage. Here, it is worth quoting the eloquent words of St. Augustine when he states that, “The first subject students learn is the teacher. Teachers offer themselves for imitation. This is the essence of what people call teaching” (St. Augustine, De Musica, 1.6).

In a nutshell, the Catholic Church teaches that education is more than a job; it is a vocation. The Church stresses that the teaching work is not just a profession or a job to earn salaries but a vocation, a call by God, to form, inform and transform the hearts, minds and spirits of the students we teach. This makes the vocation of educators very important since they are not just to be teachers but more importantly witnesses. It is critical therefore that the Church’s Colleges of Education and other Institutes for learning and teaching be made to become centers of excellence where teachers are trained in their chosen vocation to play the role of creators, mentors and guides.

4. The Catholic School Teacher as a Good Shepherd: Some Qualities Needed

The image of shepherd is profoundly biblical. In the Old Testament, God himself was seen as the shepherd of His people, Israel (Gen. 49:24; Ps. 80:2) while his chosen leaders were to act similarly as shepherds (1 Sam. 17:34-35; Ps. 23:2; Amos 3:12). In the New Testament also, Jesus himself is the Good Shepherd who serves as a servant to his flock, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45). As a good shepherd, the Catholic school teacher is to give himself in love and humility as a total gift to his work and students as Jesus did (cf. Phil. 2:7-8). According to St. Augustine, “He who is head of the people must in the first place realize that he is to be servant of many … he should not disdain being the servant of many …” (St. Augustine, Sermo Morin, 32, 1).

Dr. in the Chair, for the Catholic school teacher to be described and considered as good shepherd entails a lot. First and foremost, as a good shepherd, the Catholic school teacher must feel compassion for his flock, the students; he or she must go in search of the lost ones and those who have gone astray (cf. Matt. 18:12-14). He or she must celebrate those who achieve high success, strengthen those who are weak and vulnerable and encourage those who are hopeless. Besides, as the Gospel makes us aware, the good shepherd knows his sheep and calls them by name (cf. Jn. 10:3). The Catholic school teacher must know his students well and call them by name.

Moreover, every good shepherd is a role model to those he or she leads. Hence, Catholic school teachers as good shepherds must lead by example, show a high standard of decency in their appearance, speech and conduct as children primarily learn through observation and imitation. Today as in the days gone by, the success of Catholic schools will largely depend on the professionalism of our teachers. Therefore, as good shepherds and role models, Catholic school teachers must take their work seriously and approach it with dedication, commitment and a spirit of sacrifice. In your work as teachers, you must strive for personal and professional growth and also aspire to take on leadership positions in the schools, Church, community and the nation.

Finally, Catholic school teachers as good shepherds should embody integrity, patience, understanding and passion for teaching. You must have respect for authority as well as those under you. You must exhibit good character and ability to develop your students socially, mentally and spiritually in a safe environment. In a nutshell, as Jesus the Good Shepherd offers his life for his sheep, so also must the Catholic school teacher in our contemporary time offer his or her life for his or her work in an act of total pastoral charity.

5. Some Few Recommendations on the Way Forward

Dr. in the Chair, in bringing my Keynote Address to a close, I wish to make these few brief recommendations. One, Catholic Education Units in our Archdiocese and across all Arch/dioceses must be properly resourced with the requisite personnel and materials to enable the Units to carry out their stated mandate properly, effectively and efficiently.

Two, all Parishes and Rectorates in the Archdiocese should have a database of all our professionals working there, including teachers. This will enable the Church to get to know members of its professional groups and thus be able to organize formation and other programmes for them.

Three, the time is ripe for all Parishes and Rectorates to identify some parishioners who have the potential for teaching and support them in any way possible to train to become teachers. Such should be encouraged to return to help their Parishes and Churches when their training is over.

Four, teachers must show a spirit of volunteerism in their work. In our Parishes, teachers should offer themselves for formation and training to become catechists, animators of Schools of Jesus and Biblical Apostolate, lectors, ushers and other ministries in the Church. You must also consider organizing classes for students during vacations, among others. In sum, you must do something for God and Church and strive to become more visible in our Parishes and Rectorates.

Conclusion

Dr. in the Chair, with these words, I wish to bring my Address to a close. I thank you personally, and also thank this assembly for your kind audience and attention. I wish this Seminar the best of luck in its deliberations, and I wish you all a successful 2025 Catholic Education Week celebration.

Long live the Archdiocese of Cape Coast!

Long live the Association of Catholic Teachers (ACT)!!

Long live Catholic Education!!! Thank you very much.