Bishop John Opoku-Agyemang announced the suspension of Fr. Samuel Adapore on August 24, barring the Priest from administering any of the Sacraments publicly, including celebrating Mass, concelebrating at Mass, or officiating any other Liturgical services.
He said, “With a heavy heart but a great sense of duty to Holy Mother Church, I write to inform you of my decision, in consultation with the College of Consultors, to impose the canonical sanction of suspension a divinis indefinitely on Rev. Fr. Samuel Adapore.”
Bishop Opoku-Agyemang explained that the suspension, which took effect from August 24, meant that the Priest is “forbidden to administer any of the sacraments publicly, especially to celebrate Mass or concelebrate at Mass or to officiate any other liturgical services.”
In a letter to the Clergy, Members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL), and the faithful of the Diocese, the Ghanaian Catholic Bishop stated, “This suspension is due to serious acts.”
The Bishop highlighted the seriousness of the actions, including what he described as “a unilateral decision” by the suspended Priest “to take a leave of absence from the diocese” and to abandon “his pastoral ministry at the St. Anthony of Padua Rectorate, Nkwantakese, without legitimate permission (in contravention of Can. 533 §1).”
“He also took all his personal effects from the mission house at Nkwantakese without recourse to anybody,” Bishop Opoku-Agyemang said of the Priest.
The Bishop further said attempts to contact Fr. Adapore had been unsuccessful, adding that his immediate family members had also said they were unaware of his current location.
“As at now, he has blocked all access to him and his immediate family members have maintained that none of them knows his whereabouts. Let us remember him in our prayers,” Bishop Opoku-Agyemang added.