The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has announced plans to meet Honourable Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Member of Parliament for Effutu and current Minority Leader, following his recent declaration that he is both a Catholic and a Freemason.
The announcement was made in response to an open letter by Fr. Ebenezer Hanson addressing the issue of Freemasonry and Catholicism. The President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, reiterated the Church’s stance that Catholicism and Freemasonry are incompatible.
The bishops intend to make it “unambiguously clear” during the meeting that one cannot reconcile the two, stressing that “Honourable Afenyo-Markin will have to make a choice.”
This comes after Afenyo-Markin’s public statement during a parliamentary vetting, which sparked concern among Catholic faithful, particularly the youth.
In his letter, Bishop Gyamfi reaffirmed the Church’s longstanding position that Freemasonry contradicts the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church. “The Church has always maintained that Freemasonry is incompatible with the teachings of Christ and the Church,” he stated.
He further explained that Freemasonry operates as a religion with doctrines that conflict with core Christian beliefs. “What Freemasonry teaches about God, Christ, the denial of grace and Christ’s role in salvation, morality, its attitude towards the Bible, eschatology, the masonic oaths, and the notions of rebirth and enlightenment cannot be reconciled with Christian beliefs,” he wrote.
“For these reasons, one cannot simultaneously be a Catholic and a Freemason, just as one cannot be a Catholic and a Muslim, Hindu, Shintoist, or practitioner of African Traditional Religion. One must choose between Christianity and Freemasonry,” he added.
Bishop Gyamfi emphasized that while Freemasons may be good and philanthropic individuals, their teachings remain fundamentally at odds with the Catholic faith. “The Church does not claim that Freemasons are bad people, but it is clear that membership in Freemasonry is forbidden for Catholics,” he said, noting the Church’s historical opposition to the organization, which dates back to the 18th century.