Publications by Cardinal Poreku Dery - Books and Articles



1. Memoirs of Most Rev. Peter Porekuu Dery; Archbishop Emeritus of Tamale, by Peter Porekuu Dery, GILLBT Press, Tamale, (2003); 162 pp; 9 illustrations.

Synopsis:
This book is a significant publication by Dery and has been the most influential up to date. It does not only recount the personal story of Dery's life and religious career which began as a priest in formation within Dagara religion and ended with his retirement as an archbishop of the catholic church, but also deal with heroic deeds of the first catholic missionaries who are responsible for the planting of Catholicism in Northern Ghana. In this context, it is book about cultural contact, dialogue and reconciliation. As such, the book is an important contribution to the cultural history of Northern Ghana.

Content:
Sunset in the morning for Mwankurinaa - My roots and early years; a Dagao with the Dagara, a Sisala with the Sisala - How I cam into contact with the Missionaries - My formal education and seminary training - My ordination and life as a young priest - My years of formation abroad - My early years as bishop of Wa - My transfer to Tamale - Developing diocesan structures - The twilight of my life.


2. Free Wives Freed Women: The effect of the bride-price on the position of women among the Dagara, by Peter Porekuu Dery, Wa Catholic Press, Wa (2003); 48 pp.

Synopsis:
Meant to be part of a larger work on marriage and family life, this booklet outlines Dery's deep conviction that the bride-price as practised in Dagara culture is an issue that cannot be reconciled with the Catholic faith. Indeed he is sure that it is an affront on the dignity of the woman and a an obstacle that needs to be removed if the woman is to gain total freedom as a wife. Yet, he admits that it one of the cultural norms that the Dagara will never to willing to give up.

Contents:
Bride-price and its effect on the dignity of the woman - The bride-price: an accident in history - Early missionary tolerance: faith in its infancy - Living the Christian ideal: mature Christianity - A new notion of family - Woman, her own foe: Woman her only hope - A note of hope.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ancestral Musings: Cardinal Dery’s Legacy and the Case against Non-Diocesan Leadership

Image
  In 1929, Peter Poreku Dery was about twelve years old when the Catholic Missionary Fathers of Africa first arrived in Jirapa, some twenty-two miles distant from Dery’s village (Zemopare), and began their work of Christian conversion. He was first introduced to the missionaries by his father who had come into contact with them through his work as an itinerant trader. His father was so enthusiastic about the missionary religion to the extent that he was prepared to annul the traditional marriage between him and four of his wives in order to become a Christian. This act provoked a serious religious and cultural conflict between Poreku Dery’s father and his uncle. Ritual sacrifices at the ancestral shrine as well as various acts of divination failed to reconcile the two brothers but led to a scission within the family and the emigration of Dery’s father. Poreku Dery assisted in all these rituals and felt the pain of the conflict and the separation; a feeling that helped to make him a rel
Read more

Publications on Cardinal Poreku Dery

Image
Alexis B. Tengan (ed.) Religion, Culture, Society and Integral Human Development: proceedings of Cardinal Poreku Dery third colloquium First published in 2017 by Sub-SaharanPublishers P.O.Box 358 Legon-Accra Contact/Order: click Synopsis: The present book presents a collection of papers presented during the third Cardinal Poreku Dery Colloquium held at Wa, Ghana. Cardinal Dery Colloquia are part of an action research movement and study initiated by Dr. Alexis B. Tengan since 2003 which are seeking to provide a heritage institution of integral human development in the fullest sense of the term. The focus of the movement is to create intellectual awareness for self and guided education into the depths of religious, cultural, economic, social and philosophical movements and ideas before and after foreign religious (Islam, Christianity etc.) arrival particularly in northern Ghana and in Africa generally. The main objective is to identify and document the tangible and intangib
Read more

EULOGY: Archbishop Gregory Eebo KPIEBAYA (1933 to 2022)

Image
Out from Euphoria and Charisma to the reality of Catholicism The “mass conversion” and religious movement of the Dagaaba people into Catholicism in 1929 was euphoric in action and expectation. The tempo of the movement could only be sustained for a period of time by the over enthusiasm of the first missionaries to realise an eschatological hope in an African society combined with an unusual charisma of the first prelate who, also being a Dagao, was able to lead the people along this path of euphoria. The enthusiasm of the missionaries enabled them to find the appropriate material and human resources, mostly from outside the region and within the shortest possible time, to build a model church on earth that will take care of the material and spiritual needs of the people. The charisma of the local prelate, who was also extraordinarily gifted in ritual performance and church liturgy, perpetuated this euphoria as divine reality that could not be sustained.    I pay tribute to Archbis
Read more