Ghana's bishops say crowning of St. Agatha's relic is veneration, not idolatry

The Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference has issued a pastoral letter on the veneration of relics, responding to the dispute over a video showing Cardinal Pietro Parolin crowning the skull of St. Agatha in Catania, Italy. The letter was released on August 26, 2026.

"We write because this video has disturbed many of the faithful," the bishops said. The unease was not only about seeing a human skull handled and displayed. It also raised concerns about necromancy and the occult, practices that seek to communicate with the dead or to obtain supernatural power through rituals outside the worship of God.

The bishops said the crowning of the relic of St. Agatha is an act of Christian veneration and should not be confused with idolatry, necromancy or the occult. The ceremony honors a woman who, according to tradition, held on to her faith in Christ rather than renounce it, they said.

The crown symbolizes a martyr's victory and her reward in heaven, according to the letter. The relic recalls the person who lived that life, the bishops said, and the honor given to her points ultimately to God, the source of her holiness.