ACCRA — The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has issued a pastoral letter to clarify the Church’s teaching on the veneration of relics, following widespread discomfort and confusion among the faithful after a viral video of a ceremony in Italy.
The video shows the ceremonial crowning of the skull relic of St. Agatha in Catania, Sicily, by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State. The ceremony, held on August 17, 2026, marked the 900th anniversary of the return of the saint’s relics to her home city.
Addressing the Faithful’s Concerns
The Bishops acknowledged that the sight of a human skull being handled and displayed had troubled many of the faithful, with some describing the images as reminiscent of “necromancy and occultism.” In the pastoral letter, signed by Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, President of the GCBC and Bishop of Sunyani, the Bishops clarified that while Scripture condemns attempts to communicate with the dead, the veneration of relics is a fundamentally different practice rooted in the Church’s ancient tradition.
What Is a Relic?
The letter explains that a relic is not a mere curiosity but “a tangible connection to a life of holiness.” The Church holds the human body sacred — a temple of the Holy Spirit destined for resurrection — and so honours the remains of the martyrs who bore witness to Christ. This honour, the Bishops stressed, does not stop at the bone itself; it passes through the saint and ultimately to God, the source of all holiness.
Veneration, Not Worship
A central part of the letter distinguishes between the different forms of honour recognised in Catholic tradition:
- Latria — worship owed to God alone.
- Dulia — honour given to the saints.
- Hyperdulia — the special honour given to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Bishops clarified that when the faithful kneel before or kiss a relic, they are not worshipping an object. “Nothing in this act seeks to summon a spirit or extract hidden knowledge,” the letter states, comparing the gesture to kissing a photograph of a departed loved one — an act that directs affection toward the person the image represents, not the paper itself.
Why the Crown?
On the specific act of crowning the skull, the GCBC noted that the crown is not a decoration and confers no divine status. Rather, it represents the “crown of life” spoken of in Scripture (James 1:12), symbolising the martyr’s victory and heavenly reward for remaining faithful to Christ even unto death.
A Call to Catechesis
The Conference closed by urging priests and catechists to use the moment as an opportunity for deeper catechesis on the communion of saints, expressing the hope that “the whole People of God in Ghana may grow in appreciation of this ancient and legitimate expression of Catholic piety.”
The letter, dated August 26, 2026, ends with an invocation of the intercession of St. Agatha and an episcopal blessing for the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of Ghana.
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