Book Review: Archbishop Sarpong Explains Key Christian Topics

Author: Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong
Reviewer: Damian Avevor, News Editor, The Catholic Standard, the only Ghana’s National Catholic Weekly Newspaper

Publisher: Standard Newspapers and Magazines Limited, Publishers of The Catholic Standard

Publication date: 2016
No. of Pages: 129
There are many teachings of the Catholic Church which quite a number of people, both Catholics and non-Catholics alike, do not know or understand or interpret them in their own ways.

The compendium of articles in the Book titled “Archbishop Sarpong Explains Key Christian Topics” written by the famous 83-year Archbishop Emeritus of Kumasi, Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong, published in the 2011 and 2012 editions of The Catholic Standard, highlights and teaches both Catholics and non-Catholics some key teachings of the Church and why the Catholic Church stands out in its beliefs and practices.

The Book deals with a variety of human experiences from religion with emphasis on Catholic Church Doctrines which will help in the understanding of some of the world’s faith problems especially among Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

The Archbishop writes prolifically on Religion, Culture, Politics, Education, and Tradition and on many other topics that engage the attention of readers with an ecstasy of admiration.

Non-Catholics and even some Catholics often argue that all Christians are the same. We are all followers of Christ and so on. In this Book, the Author explains that as a matter of fact we are not all the same. If we were all the same then why would there be Church ‘A’, Church ‘B’ and Church ‘C’, Church ‘X’ and Church ‘Y’?

The point is that all people who are validly baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, with water are Christians. They are all members of the Body of Christ as St. Paul would put it. They are all members of the Church. As such, all validly baptized people must fulfil the triple role of Jesus Christ.

How many people in Ghana know that there is an agreement among the Methodist, the Presbyterian, the Anglican, the Evangelical Presbyterian and the Catholic Churches that each other’s Baptism is admitted as valid?

The Book elaborates on the fact that even though there are agreements, the Catholic Church cannot just accept anybody as baptised, unless it is first sure that the person has actually been baptised according to the rites of his or her Church.

Once the Church is sure that he has been baptised in one of the other Churches, using the same formula of Baptism then obviously even if he becomes a Catholic, he will not be baptised again.

The Book has seven Chapters with thought-proving topics and each of them treated with how Catholics should understand their faith and teachings of the Church. My interest in this review is based on Chapters One to four.

Chapter One of this Book deals with In Defence of Catholic Principles: Churches Differ and explains that not all baptized people are Catholics. To be a Catholic, apart from the Baptism that makes you a Christian, you should hold on to the faith of the Catholic Church.

The Author says that there are a good number of Churches which do not believe in many truths the Catholic Church holds dear. They cannot be Catholics. Secondly, Catholics hold that there are seven Sacraments. Numerous non-Catholic Christians do not believe in the seven Sacraments. Some have four Sacraments, some have none. A grab of the Book will give the reader the Sacraments of the Catholic Church and that of other Churches.

This Chapter also dilates on the controversial case of Marriage which is another Church’s law about marriage, as like Holy Eucharist is meant not for non-Catholics but for Catholics.

Reading the Book tells you that the law governing Holy Matrimony is not made for the non-Catholics who may wish to marry a Catholic but meant for a Catholic who wants to marry. The law is very simple. The Book indicates that for a Catholic who wants to marry, three conditions must be fulfilled.

One area of the Book which could strike the reader, is what the Author categorically states that all the things that are associated with weddings in the Church have nothing to do with the Sacrament of marriage.

The Author laments that Social trimmings have entered into the administration of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and in some cases have made the Sacrament an expensive business which he feels is not the fault of the Church.

It is interesting to learn that a marriage can take place when all that the couples have to pay for, is the cost of the Ticket and Certificate testifying that it has taken place with the emphasis that marriage need not take place during Mass.

In the view of the Author, in Europe and America, many marriages frequently take place outside Mass and it is reasonable and states that after all apart from the Sacrament of Holy Orders (Priesthood), all other Sacraments are often given outside Mass.

He notes that Baptism of both adults and children can take place outside Mass, Confirmation need not take place during Mass, Communion can be taken outside Mass while the Sacrament of anointing is almost never given during Mass, Confession is not part of Mass and in the same way, marriage need not be part of the Eucharistic celebration.

Chapter two which dilates on In Defence of the Sacraments makes us to understand that the efficacy of the Sacraments did not depend upon the Priest who administers them the faithful.

Interestingly, it is good to read from the Book which explains how the Sacraments work ex opere operato and not ex opere operantis. It explains the power of the Sacraments and the work of Priests and purposefully deals with the Priesthood, among other things, and not Priests.

The Priesthood is an institution endowed with the graces of the Lord which are dispensed by the Priest. The Sacraments and graces belong to Christ, not to the Priest; the Priest’s only part is to make them available to the faithful, preferably with some Catechesis that will make recipients understand that it is not the Priest who produces the grace but Christ.

The Author gives an analogy of medicine not being equal to the Doctor. Medicine has its own effect when it is applied by a Doctor. The Doctor himself might be suffering from the same disease in somebody else he is trying to cure.

So long as he administers the medicine as he has learnt from his studies and experience, the medicine will have its effect, even if the doctor himself is suffering from the same disease which he does not use the medicine to treat.

His refusal or neglect to use the medicine on himself does not detract from its effect on his patient. Similarly, a sinful Lawyer is able to defend a client and a criminal prisoner can give a good advice to a fellow prisoner based on the same principle of ex opere operato.

Chapter Three looks at In Defence of the Veneration of Saints and stipulates that it is never true that Catholics worship Saints nor adore them but emphasises that only God is worshipped and adored (cfr. Mt. 5:10).

It reminds Catholics and non-Catholics especially those who have the erroneous impression that the Saints of the Church are venerated and not worshipped. The veneration of the Saints is called dulia while In the case of Our Lady, the cult is called super dulia.

He looks at how other Churches like the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran Churches, Methodists, Church of Mormons, the Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Armenian Apostolic Churches do accept the existence of Saints.

It also delves into the procedure of Canonization and Beatification of Saints and how other Churches also go about it.

As a Devil’s Advocate, the Book spells out that it is the Catholic Church’s concept of Sainthood that underlies the Catholic Church’s veneration of and intercession to the Saints. If human beings on earth can be asked to pray for us, then surely people who are with God can be asked to intercede for us. That is the Theology of the Veneration of the Saints.

This Chapter also dilates on Baptismal or Christian Names and African Names. The Authors stirs the argument that there is a misunderstanding about taking or giving of names at Baptism.

The Author argues that some people, including Priests, who insist that baptismal names must be added to the name of the person being baptized is not correct and states emphatically that a person can be baptized without a so-called Christian name being imposed on him or his choosing such a Christian name.

In Chapter four, Archbishop Sarpong talks of In Defence of Papal Ineffability and thinks that while some have not heard of this teaching of the Church, others are convinced that it means that the Pope cannot make a mistake in anything. Still others see in the Doctrine a tinge of totalitarianism on the part of the Popes.

Hardly do people link it with the belief that God will not allow his Church to deceive the faithful in matters concerning faith and morals. They do not realise that infallibility is not a quality that the Catholic Church attaches to the Office of the Pope.

Infallibility, in fact, concerns the Popes, Ecumenical Councils of the Church, the Bishops collectively and the faithful themselves. The Author goes further to give descriptions of Papal Infallibility which will interest all readers.

Chapter five discusses The Role of the Church in Cultural Development, and looks at how the Church has played a very ambivalent role in the cultural development of Ghana.

It also looks at how the Church was brought to Ghana by Missionaries who saw nothing good in the culture of Africans. Before coming to evangelise, they had read books on Africa, which were written by explorers, navigators, traders, adventurers and warriors from Europe who were not trained Anthropologists or Sociologists and who only described what they considered to be weird, strange, abhorrent and detestable in African life.

In conclusion, the Author states that the role that Christian Churches have played in the cultural development of our nation has, on the one hand, been disastrously negative and, on the other, gloriously positive.

Chapters Six and Seven deal with “The Ghanaian Church and Society” and “The Role of the Church in the Promotion of a Good Political Life in Ghana.” respectively.

These Chapters look at the state of Religion in Ghana and its effects on the national economy and what the Church advises Catholics who want to be politicians to do. It stresses on how politics must be approached as a vocation and not as a job.

It explains that as a vocation, it must be seen as an undertaking, as a response to the clarion call of Ghana, for help to free her from the affliction she has been enduring from time immemorial. It is the responsibility of the Church to educate her members in this.

The Book is recommended to both Catholics and non-Catholics and it is expected that readers of this Book would benefit immensely because they would have been more enlightened about the topics discussed in it and the Catholic Church in general.

The Book- “Archbishop Sarpong Explains Key Christian Topics” was launched at the St. Peter’s Minor basilica in Kumasi on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, and at the Christ the King Parish Hall in Accra on Wednesday, June 29, Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul.