The Most Reverend John Baptist Attakruh, Bishop of the Sekondi-Takoradi Diocese, has issued a powerful call for faith-based leadership in the global fight against climate change, urging the Catholic Church and other religious institutions to spearhead attitudinal transformation toward environmental sustainability.
Speaking at the 2025 Moreau Murat Memorial Lectures in Takoradi, Bishop Attakruh emphasized that the Church must move beyond spiritual guidance to become a moral force for ecological stewardship. “The climate crisis is not just a scientific issue—it is a moral and spiritual one. Our faith compels us to act,” he stated.
Held at the Our Lady Star of the Sea Cathedral, the two-day lecture was part of the Centenary Celebrations of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall. The event was themed “The Call to All People of Goodwill on the Climate Crisis in View of Laudate Deum – the Marshallan”, drawing inspiration from Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the environment.
Quoting Laudate Deum, Bishop Attakruh highlighted the Pope’s warning that climate change is a “global social issue” that threatens the dignity of human life, particularly for vulnerable families who face worsened access to health, education, employment, and natural resources due to environmental degradation.
“Climate change isn’t distant—it’s here, and it’s hitting the poorest among us the hardest,” the Bishop stressed.
He raised alarm over Ghana’s accelerating environmental decline, blaming human activities such as illegal mining (galamsey), plastic waste pollution, and indiscriminate dumping of garbage. “Our forests are being depleted, our rivers poisoned, and our air quality compromised—all in pursuit of unchecked gain,” he lamented, referencing the devastating impact of galamsey in the Western, Eastern, and Ashanti regions.
From a theological perspective, Bishop Attakruh emphasized that care for the Earth is a divine mandate. “Creation is not ours to exploit, but to protect. As Christians, our stewardship of nature is part of our obedience to God’s will,” he said.
He called on the Church to lead by example, using its pulpit and platforms—sermons, Bible studies, liturgies, and community outreach—to embed environmental consciousness in faith practice. “We must model sustainable living and mobilize our congregations to engage in tree planting, clean-up exercises, and environmental advocacy.”
The Moreau Murat Memorial Lectures were established in 1989 to honor pioneering figures who helped establish the Catholic Mission in the then Gold Coast, including Sir James Marshall, Rev. Father Auguste Moreau, and Rev. Father Eugene Murat of the Society of African Missions (SMA). This year’s lecture serves as both a remembrance of legacy and a timely call to action in the face of one of humanity’s most pressing challenges.
As climate anxiety continues to mount globally, Bishop Attakruh’s message resonates as a rallying cry: that the Church must be a voice not only for salvation of souls, but for the salvation of the planet.
