COVID-19 Pandemic and the Response of the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana

Abstract

The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ghana in early March 2020, barely three months after the World Health Organization had announced the first reported case in China, brought faith-based communities and religious groups to complement the efforts of the government of Ghana in responding to the pandemic. The multi-dimensional efforts by the faith-based groups played a significant role to curtail the spread of the virus and reduce the number of victims, thus averting a national disaster. This paper will make use of existing literature including media accounts on COVID-19.  It will discuss the spread of the pandemic and its impact on the population of Ghana and then focus on the response of the Roman Catholic Church on the measures adopted to mitigate against the spread of the virus and alleviate the sufferings of affected persons. The article will specifically examine the theological, liturgical, and pastoral approaches of the Roman Catholic Church, and argue that the Church’s intervention appeared to be largely driven by its teaching that the human person, who is the direct victim of COVID-19, is an imago Dei, a creature in the image of God.