‘Clergy should not shy away from national issues’

Front Page: Daily Graphic, May 7, 2012 Story: Albert K. Salia THE Archbishop Emeritus of Kumasi, the Most Rev Peter Akwasi Sarpong, has urged the clergy not to shy away from commenting on issues affecting the state. “If the church is silent over the ludicrous and perplexing issues affecting the nation; if the church is not to be involved in the affairs of the nation without being accused of meddling in politics, then what is the church for?” he asked, and reminded the clergy not to give in to those who criticised the church for doing politics and being unpatriotic. “If we follow Jesus, we will see and hear Him say that political intimidation, bigotry and deceit are inhuman and that the church must stand up against them,” he said, and stressed that “the church’s role is not to please human beings; it is to please Jesus Christ who has clearly and loudly said ‘Follow me’”. The Most Rev Sarpong said this when he launched the Golden Jubilee of the National Catholic Secretariat (NCS) in Accra on Friday, May 4, 2012. The anniversary is on the theme, “NCS @ 50 – The Church in Ghana in Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace”. He said if sections of society would condemn and criticise the church for its comments on national issues, it could only be detrimental to the state and stressed that “we Ghanaians must know that without criticism, freedom yields to totalitarianism, justice gives way to exploitation, charity recedes into ruthlessness, peace dissolves into rivalry and hostility”. Although the NCS was established in 1960 as the executive arm of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC), it was registered as a corporate entity in 1962. With five departments, the NCS is responsible for implementing the decisions and policies of the GCBC. The Most Rev Sarpong said when the church commented on educational or health issues, it was on a complementary basis with the view to assisting the state to fill in where the state fell short, stressing that “there is nothing like Catholic health and government health; it is the same health we are concerned about”. He also said the charge to cast out devils included “the devil of oppression, the devil of hedonism, the devil of political intimidation and deceit, the devil of the ethics that exclude God, the devil of the callous destruction of the family and all that this implies, the devil of new abominable habits entering our country, the devil of diseases, the devil of ignorance, the devil of poverty, the devil of abortion, the devil of rape, the devil of violence, the devil of vendetta”. “It is these and many other devils that the church in Ghana, in pursuit of peace, justice and reconciliation, has waged a relentless war against in the past 50 years,” he added. He noted that the communiques issued by the GCBC did not seek to praise any political party or persons and that they spoke the truth as it was and what they said was accepted and respected by the nation, although “we are sometimes condemned for making innocuous suggestions for the good of the nation”. The Most Rev Sarpong said the question of justice and peace formed part of the church’s mission of promoting human life through education, health and social welfare which alleviated poverty. He said the performance of the Catholic Church so far demonstrated that the church was still needed in the promotion of reconciliation, justice and peace for the country. He, therefore, asked the leadership of the NCS to use the Golden Jubilee celebration to ponder over whether the church in Ghana had “completely lived up to its ideal of effectively being at the service of reconciliation, justice and peace by offering itself as one of the principal agents under the judgement of the enduring values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Freedom, justice, peace, charity, compassion and reconciliation”. “In short, have we made the church absolutely necessary by proclaiming, without compromise, the dignity and worth of every person in Ghana?” he asked. In a goodwill message, the President of the GCBC, the Most Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu, expressed the hope that the anniversary would lead to a restoration of good relations in the church and in the state. “I would want it to be a year in which justice and peace will be championed everywhere; a year in which people’s human rights will be respected,” he said. The Most Rev Osei-Bonsu paid glowing tribute to the founding fathers of the NCS for their pioneering work in the midst of great difficulties and hardships.