Catholic Bishops Respond to Mahama, Kwakye Ofosu on Family Values Bill, Call for Moral and Economic Coherence

Accra— The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has issued a detailed pastoral and public statement addressing recent remarks by President John Dramani Mahama and Minister of Government Communications, Hon. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, on the national debate surrounding family values and the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill.

The statement Lead  by Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, Bishop of Sunyani and President of the GCBC, the statement titled _“Pastoral and Public Statement on the National Significance of the Family Values Debate and the Call for Coherent Public Discourse”_ was released from Centenary House, near Tetteh Quarshie Interchange, on Friday, April 10, 2026.

“Nations Do Not Live by Bread Alone”

The Bishops responded directly to reports that President Mahama, speaking at the World Affairs Council, described LGBTQ+ matters as “not the most important issue we face as a nation,” and to subsequent comments by Minister Kwakye Ofosu suggesting such matters are “not a major priority for Ghanaians” and characterizing the debate as a “waste of time.”

“Even if intended to prioritise urgent socio-economic concerns, such descriptions risk conveying that certain moral questions may be set aside as inconsequential,” the Bishops wrote.

“Yet no question that touches the structure of human identity, family life, and social continuity can be trivial. Nations do not live by bread alone. They are sustained also by the invisible architecture of values.”

Rejecting a “False Dichotomy” Between Economics and Ethics

While acknowledging Ghana’s pressing challenges — including inflation, youth unemployment, and gaps in healthcare and education — the Conference rejected what it called an “analytically unsound” framing that pits economic progress against moral coherence.

“The two are not rivals but companions,” the statement reads. “Empirical social research across contexts shows that stable family structures correlate with improved educational outcomes, reduced crime rates, and greater economic mobility.

The family, in quiet ways, is a nation’s most efficient social welfare system.”

Definition of Family Values and “Two Principles”

The Bishops clarified that by “family values,” they refer to “the understanding of marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman, ordered toward mutual good and the procreation and formation of children.”

They described this vision as shared across many religious and cultural traditions in Ghana.

The statement reaffirmed two principles it said “must always be held together”:

“the inviolable dignity of every human person. No individual, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, may be subjected to violence, hatred, or unjust discrimination. Such acts are moral failures and social wounds. We condemn them without reservation.”

Secondly, “the legitimate responsibility of society to uphold and protect the institution of the family, founded upon the union of a man and a woman.

This is not an act of exclusion but a recognition of a unique anthropological and social reality.”

“To affirm dignity does not require the redefinition of marriage. To defend marriage does not require hostility,” the Bishops added.

Call on President to Honour Assent Assurance

On the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, the Conference said it had “followed attentively the legislative process” and recalled President Mahama’s “earlier public assurance that he would assent to the Bill should it be duly passed in accordance with constitutional procedures.”

“Democratic integrity rests, in part, on the fidelity of leaders to their publicly stated commitments. Should Parliament complete its deliberations and pass the Bill, we urge the President to honour this assurance,” the statement said.

At the same time, the Bishops acknowledged that “aspects of the Bill have generated legitimate concern” and said these “deserve careful legislative scrutiny and, where necessary, refinement.”

They urged that the law’s final form reflect “both the moral convictions of the Ghanaian people and the constitutional commitment to human dignity and fundamental rights.”

Appeal for “Serious and Respectful” Dialogue

The GCBC cautioned that describing the debate as a “waste of time” risks “alienating citizens for whom these issues are existentially meaningful.”

They called on the executive, legislature, religious leaders, traditional authorities, and civil society to engage in “dialogue marked by intellectual seriousness, mutual respect, and moral clarity,” adding:

“The tone of our discourse matters as much as its content.”

“The Church remains committed to participating in this dialogue, not as one who imposes, but as one who proposes, confident that truth, when patiently articulated, has a quiet persuasive power,” the statement noted. “Moral Memory of Generations Yet Unborn”

in Conclusion  the Bishops said Ghana “stands at a delicate intersection where economic aspiration meets moral self-definition,” and warned that “the choices we make now will echo beyond policy cycles into the moral memory of generations yet unborn.”

“We pray that our nation may be guided by wisdom, anchored in justice, and animated by charity.

May every person’s dignity be safeguarded. May the family, that small but sovereign sanctuary of life and love, be protected and strengthened,” the statement concluded, entrusting Ghana to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph.

The statement was lead by Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi ,Bishop of Sunyani and President, Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference