Use Easter to pray for peace--- Methodist and Catholic bishops

Page 41: Daily Graphic, April 5, 2012. Story: Albert K. Salia TWO of Ghana’s religious kin-pins, have called on Ghanaians to use the Easter festivities to pray for peace and work towards the realisation of peace and reconciliation jin the country. To achieve this, the religious leaders stressed the need for Ghanaians to reconcile to one another and shun everything that did not promote peace, particularly conflict and violence.. The President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu and Most Rev Professor Emmanuel Asante, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana made the call in separate Easter messages to Ghanaians in an interview with the Daily Graphic. In his message, Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu reminded Ghanaians “that we have only one country called Ghana and that this country is the only home that we have. We should therefore ensure that there is peace in this dear country of ours during this year of elections”. He, therefore, called on politicians to “also refrain from making pronouncements that do not promote peace, but rather create confusion, rancour, bitterness and resentment”. Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu, who is also the Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, reminded Ghanaians that the first gift the risen Christ gave to his disciples was peace and referred Ghanaians to John 20:20-21. “It is my prayer that Jesus will bestow on us and on our country the same gift of peace that he gave to his disciples on the vision of the prophet Isaiah: “…and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4; cf. Micah 4:3). According to him, Ghana needed peace more than ever, especially in this year of elections. Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu, therefore, urged all those taking part in the ongoing biometric registration exercise to do so in peace. “I appeal to all the political parties and their supporters to refrain from violence during this registration exercise and to avoid the use of thugs or “macho men” to intimidate those registering. No one should attempt to register more than once or to register people under the age of eighteen, since it is a criminal offence”, he added. On the 2012 general elections, he urged all the political parties, candidates, agents and party workers to abide by the Political Parties Code of Conduct 2012 as published by the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Ghana Political Parties Programme. “In the interest of peace, they should “not obstruct, disrupt, break up or cause to be broken up, meetings or rallies organised by other Political Parties and candidates” (Political Parties Code of Conduct 2012, p. 5). They should also “desist from the carrying of arms and offensive weapons and the display of same” (Political Parties Code of Conduct 2012, p. 5)”, he stated. Most Rev.Osei-Bonsu urged all the political parties and candidates to conduct themselves honourably and respect their opponents, both in their utterances and actions. He said it was important that they did not regard their political opponents as their enemies, stressing that “They should also put an end to the culture of insults that had recently characterised much of the politics of our nation”. He commended people in the country who have shown their disgust at this phenomenon and have condemned it. On the security front, Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu, appealed to the government and the security agencies to ensure that Ghanaians continued to enjoy peace in the country. He urged the police and other security agencies responsible for maintaining peace and order during the biometric registration exercise and the elections later this year to conduct themselves professionally, remain absolutely neutral and take the appropriate action against all troublemakers, “taking no note of their political affiliation, origin or status”. The Catholic Bishop of Konongo-Mampong further acknowledged the crucial role of the media in having peaceful elections and urged media practitioners, both state and private, to “be honest, truthful, objective and circumspect in their coverage and reportage of political matters” as well as being careful in reporting news items that could heighten tension among Ghanaians. He said Ghanaians did not want to share in the unpleasant experience of countries such as the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe in post-election violence. “We do not want to be refugees in our neighbouring countries. I, therefore, appeal to all to avoid all those utterances and actions that are likely to incite people to violence and war. Let us all do what it takes to ensure that we have free, fair and violence-free elections this year in our country”, he concluded. For his part, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Most Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante, said the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was intended to bring people together. He said Ghanaians could therefore not say that they were reconciled to God if they were not reconciled to themselves. “We cannot say we love God if we hate our fellow Ghanaian and human beings”, he stated. Most Rev. Asante, therefore, urged Ghanaians not to allow partisan politics or religious doctrines to divide them. He said Ghana needed a peaceful atmosphere and a united people to sustain the peace that Christ bestowed on the nation through His death and resurrection. He, therefore, asked Ghanaians to forgive one another for any offences committed so that they could be truly reconciled to God.