A LEADING priest in Ghana described how an exodus of young people to sects could be halted by a new initiative to help Catholics know their faith.

Fr Martino Corazzin said young people are leaving the Catholic Church to join the various sects that have rapidly grown in the country over the last quarter of a century.

But he hopes a Ghanaian edition of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, supported by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, will help stem the tide by allowing the youth to know their faith more deeply. Talking to ACN, he described how the problem was highlighted at a local Church meeting earlier this year.

He said: “At a catechists’ meeting I was told, ‘Many of the youth you baptised two years ago – they don’t come anymore they attend other churches.’” Ghana has seen the numbers belonging to independent Pentecostal churches – that combine traditional magical beliefs with Christianity – rise by 400 percent over 25 years.

Describing their phenomenal growth, Fr Corazzin said: “Many sects are mushrooming – and they’re a threat to the faithful who are Catholic.” The publication of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in Ghanaian last month will help the young people know their faith more deeply – 8,000 copies have already been distributed, with 25,000 due to go out over the next month.

He said: “The youth [go to the sects because they] want entertainment – it is merely superficial – that is why the Compendium will be a great help to answer the questions and doubts they have.”

In many cases those who have left the Catholic Church either return or migrate to another sect.

ACN’s Africa expert, Rev Dr Andrew Halemba said: “The faith has been weakened terribly so they need a clear foundation and explanation of the basic facts of our faith.”

The Compendium, which uses a simple question and answer format to explain the Faith, is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It was promulgated by Benedict XVI in 2005.

Fr Halemba added: “After Vatican II there was a tendency to move away from catechisms based on ‘questions and answers’ as too formal and somehow primitive.

“Nowadays, they have discovered that there is need for such a book and that it could play a very important role in the process of evangelisation.” Fr Corazzin expects the Compendium will help people answer the questions sects raise about Catholic belief and practice.

He said: “Christians need to answer the questions of the sects, help them to defend themselves. They are asking about Mary, about the saints, all these things.”

Thanking ACN’s benefactors for their support, which had enabled the production of the Ghanaian new version of the Compendium, he said: “We really appreciate the help of ACN’s benefactors – we are just instruments – but the people doing the real work are the benefactors.

“They allow us, not just to preach the gospel, but to show our faith in what we do – as you don’t just preach, you show the gospel put into practice.” Italian born Fr Corazzin has worked in Ghana since 1991 and over the years has initiated more than 60 social and pastoral projects in the country – including opening 22 schools.