The Catholic Archdiocese of Accra on 30th July 2020, issued a new guideline encouraging Catholic Priests to return to hearing confession of the lay faithful.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic emerging in Ghana mid-March 2020, leading to the government of the republic announcing the closure of Churches, to prevent the spread of the virus, some lay faithful may have resorted to contacting their Pastors through electronic devices to hear their confession.
With restrictions eased and Churches opened to operate at full capacity, the new guideline states that “given the Church’s norms for the sacrament of reconciliation, the Priest must be physically present to the penitent in person, and must be able to hear the penitent without the aid of electronic devices; that is dependently of a wired phone, a mobile phone, an intercom, or other audio or video transmitting device”.
However, Priests should hear confessions under the conditions that he and the penitent wear face mask. Both should respect social distancing of 2 meters apart and the sacredness of the sacrament is never to be compromised.
The new guideline also gives Marriage Counsellors the greenlight to conduct marriage counselling sessions while observing all protocols to prevent COVID-19.
Read full guidelines below
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